Soar Into The Sun
by pottermommy1118
Summary: Enter Hogwarts with Teddy and Victoire as they navigate the rocky path that is a lifelong friendship turning to more. Follow through as first James then Albus and Lily join the ranks of their numerous cousins as Hogwarts students. Can the ancient school survive the 14 cousins when they include two pranking namesakes that don't know when to quit? Follows the After The Sun Rose saga.
1. Chapter 1:The Beginning of The Beginning

**_Thank you for continuing on to the Next Gen Fic!_**

**_While this can absolutely be read by itself it does follow all After The Sun Rose storylines._**

**_You don't have to read that but it is a good idea if you do :)_**

**_Thank you in advance for any and all reviews,_**

**_they are much appreciated and help inspire me._**

**_0o0o0o0_**

**_Just to Clarify where we are beginning…_**

Teddy- 5th Year-Gryffindor

Victoire- 4th Year- Gryffindor

Molly-3rd Year- Gryffindor

Lucy-3rd Year- Ravenclaw

Dominique-2nd Year- Ravenclaw

Roxxy- 1st Year Gryffindor

Lorcan- 3rd Year Ravenclaw (Luna and Rolf)

Lysander- 3rd Year Hufflepuff (Luna and Rolf)

Ollie- 5th Year Gryffindor (Alicia and Oliver Wood)

**0o0o0o**

**You can see the family tree on my page for parentage of the cousins if you have questions about that.**

**Alright everyone with me? Let's go!**

Chapter One

**The Beginning of the Beginning**

"I just think he is a royal prat, that is all." Teddy said with an air of indifference.

"That is the most idiotic reason ever. No, in the history of ever. I don't whine about the girls that you date, or rather the ones that fawn all over you for the month you put up with them." She said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"He can't even speak when you look him in the eyes. You have been dating since before Christmas holiday and he still can't speak in a full sentence around you." He added, his eyebrows raising in disbelief that she didn't agree. He completely ignored her ribbing about his own dating choices.

"Most guys can't speak around me! If I used that to dictate who I dated I would never have a boyfriend." She argued as they came to the portrait hole.

"I fail to see the downside of that statement." He said, his hair tinting to a lighter turquoise with his joke.

She actually laughed, knowing that even if he was being illogical that he knew her better than anyone. And that he actually did care, he wasn't just being a prat, as she had accused. He stopped her before they walked into the common room where at least all of the fifth and seventh years would already be studying for exams.

"Look, I get that you like him, and that he is Ravenclaw prefect and seeker on the quidditch team. I know all of the bloody girls in the school think he is Merlin reincarnated or something but just…don't be all caught up in him Vic. I mean look, I talk to you, like you are normal and everything. I never stumble over a sentence." He said with a grin.

"Teddy, you've been talking to me since the day I was born." She said, her crystal blue eyes sparkling with her smile. She grinned as she saw his eyes unconsciously shift to match her own color.

"Well, actually, from the way I have heard it told. I didn't like you right after you were born and I wouldn't even stay in the same room with you." He replied cheekily.

"Oh yes, because we all know what fantastic judges of character a thirteen month old baby is." She rolled her eyes.

"I am certain that I was the best." He joked.

"Ted, it isn't a big deal. I mean it isn't like we were shagging in the hall." She said with a huff, her cheeks tinged and odd pink color.

"No, you were just pressed against a dungeon wall with his lips all over you. Exactly what I have always wanted to walk up on." He grumbled as she said the password and they walked into the Gryffindor common room.

"Well, then I suggest you stay out of the dungeons." She said with a wicked grin and headed up the girl's stair well.

He watched her walk away with a dumbstruck expression on his face. Not noticing his sandy headed friend that had made his way over.

"Oi! Earth to Teddy. Did she hit you with a stunner or something?" Ollie said in bemusement.

Teddy shook his head, pushing his hand through his trademark blue hair. "She may as well have." He muttered as his friend slapped him on the back.

"Mate did you ever notice that the tips of your hair turn the same color blonde as hers when the two of you talk?" he asked as Teddy sat down on the sofa.

Teddy shrugged and smiled. "It only happens when she gets under my skin, irritating little titchy thing that she is."

"Hmmmhmmmm, ok." Ollie said in mock agreement.

"Why are you carrying all those books?" he asked, noticing the load that his best friend had sat on the table.

"You are aware that we are sitting our OWLS in just 6 weeks' time Teddy…We sort of need to start studying." He said in all seriousness.

"That is six weeks away! We have plenty of time." Teddy said, stretching his arms over his head.

"And you wonder why you didn't get prefect." Ollie said shaking his head in dismay.

"Actually, I do not wonder about it at all." Teddy said honestly as he watched a little red headed girl come into the common room, a frown on her face.

"Hey Roxx, what is going on little nugget?" he said, motioning her over.

She frowned deeper and walked towards him, her short bright red bob not bouncing as it normally did when she walked.

"Heya Teddy." She said dismally, sitting down beside him.

"What's wrong? You look like someone stepped on your pygmy puff."

"I hate Lysander." She muttered, whether angrily or sadly he couldn't tell.

"Erm…Lysander as in been your very best friend since you were maybe three years old and I was expecting you to marry him one day Lysander?" he said in one breath.

She pulled a face and threw her head on the back of the sofa. "Yes, that would be the one I meant."

"And what did he go and do? Do I need to hex him?"

She giggled in spite of herself. "I hardly think that will be necessary. He came to Hogwarts before me, that is what he did. And now he is different and he doesn't care about me at all. Aaaannnndddd. He wants me to tell Molly that he likes her, for him." She muttered, her cheeks reddening even more.

"Ahhh, you know Roxx, you are only eleven, I doubt he even knows you have a crush on him, I don't think he thought about how sodding stupid that was of him. Besides, you never stay with the girl you date in third year."

"Or, in Teddy's case, the four that you dated in third year and the two that you dated in fourth year, or the 5 that you snogged in fifth year." Oliver said, unhelpfully as Teddy glared at him.

"That is hardly the point." Teddy said quickly.

She looked appalled. "I DO NOT have a crush on Lydander." She cried. "See I should have talked to someone, anyone other than a Potter boy, you have been overly influence by Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron." She grumbled as she stood and stormed up the stairs.

"You know mate, I don't think you are as clueless as she thinks you are." Ollie said with a grin.

"Remind me never to try and help a first year again." Teddy said with a chuckle as he picked up a stack of Oliver's notes on Goblin wars.

"I would, but somehow I think that when Jamie starts in our seventh year he is going to require a lot of assistance."

"Too right you are." Teddy said, scanning the page for a piece of information that he didn't already know, "How long do you think before he and Fred blow up a part of the castle with a prank?"

"We will be lucky if we all make it off the train that year. I am fervently hoping I am not head boy, just so I don't have to deal with them." Oliver replied, entirely serious, as he opened his transfiguration book.

0o0o0o

He was an exceptionally good kisser, she thought as he pressed his lips against hers. His hands snaked down her sides and were pushing up at the sides of her uniform blouse, before he hitched her leg into his hand and pulled her against him. He was leant against the solid stone wall. She felt his hand slip up the outside of her thigh, hiking her skirt up. Her mind raced frantically, her lips stilling just slightly as it did. Was she ready for this? He was taking this a bit farther than he had before. Teddy would come unglued if he saw this…

Suddenly Gavin's lips were no longer upon hers and there was nothing but air where once there had been a boy pulling at her. She felt the air whip past her and a harsh sting on her upper arms. She opened her eyes and found herself a good two feet from her boyfriend and towering over her, as if she had summoned him there with her thoughts, was Teddy.

He looked furious, his hair had gone completely blue black, with red streaks shooting through. This wasn't going to be good.

"Teddy." She squeaked.

"No." he said, leveling her with his eyes, that were flashing with anger, she was terrified to say that they were exactly the green that uncle Harry's were the day the pair of them had gotten lost in the forbidden forest and he and her own father had been summoned to the school in a panic.

He turned away from her, stalking closer to Gavin.

"Teddy, stop." She whimpered.

"Victoire if ever you were going to hold your tongue, now is that moment." He boomed. She flinched, as did the 6th year Ravenclaw she had been snogging.

"Stay the bloody hell away from her." He growled.

"Look, mate, I know you two are close and all but, she is a big girl, and she happens to be my girlfriend." Gavin said, shaking his shaggy brown hair from his face.

"A big girl? She isn't even fifteen yet." He barked out. "You are feeling up a fourteen year old girl in the effing wide open. Not that I condone feeling up fourteen year olds, but can you not respect her enough to at the very least do it in a broom cupboard somewhere, there are thousands here!"

"Teddy I fail to see how my age has anything to do with this." She tried to argue from behind him.

"Look mate." Gavin tried.

"I am not, your mate."

"Fine, look git, you feel up fourteen year olds all the time, there is no big deal here, she is a fourth year I am sure she will be fifteen soon enough. No big fuss."

"Yes, yes this is a big deal. Firstly, that you obviously don't even know that your own sodding girlfriend's birthday is in three days. She was born on the anniversary, thus the name. And secondly, because I just turned sixteen a month ago! If I snog a fourteen year old, which I will add, I haven't since being sixteen, it is far different than you, who is a seventeen year old, of age wizard doing it. Yes there is a difference there." He spat before turning on Victoire. "And yes, your age has something to do with it."

"Are you failing to realize that I am older and bigger than you? In many ways I am certain." Gavin warned, his own anger showing. Victoire held her breath.

"And you are failing to recognize that none of that matters where I am concerned, I will level you, with or without magic. And I wouldn't be so sure about your last statement." Teddy replied, a false calm settling over his face. Victoire knew the signs on his face, surely as she could feel the ache in the top of her arms.

"Is that so, little boy? Are you picking a fight with the big kids? You have no say in what do, or where we do it."

Teddy's knuckles were white from clenching his fists. "I do when what you are doing she obviously isn't ready for."

"How do you know what I am or am not ready for?" she demanded, trying not to let on that she had been thinking the same thing just moments ago. "Gavin, just, just go. I will see you later on." She said frantically.

"I am not leaving you alone with him."

"Don't be ridiculous, I have spent my whole life alone with him." She said, frustrated, boys could be so stubborn. "Just go on, I have this under control, before you two fight and get put in detention."

Threatening Gavin's perfect record was always the way to go, he did not get into trouble, or at least he didn't get caught getting into trouble, rather.

"Tonight. He said with a nod."

"Watch yourself Potter… Lupin…. I'll tell you what, when you are ready, you can just tell me whose son you want to be that day and that's who I'll knock about. The son of a man who couldn't even live through the bloody war, or the son of a sniveling, whiney, little boy who had to resort to trickery to defeat his nemesis. Just make certain to let me know."

That was it. Victoire knew it. She tried to grab his waist but he pushed her roughly away as he jumped at the older boy. Shoving him against the wall, making an echoing crash through the hall.

"Teddy stop! Gavin go!" she cried, tears spilling over her eyes Teddy dropped his hands at the sound of her sob, Gavin looked murderous but grabbed his bag and walked away.

"We will deal with this on the quidditch pitch in a few weeks." Gavin called as he made it to the corner.

"I look forward to it." Teddy spat, before Victoire rounded on him.

"What is your problem!" she shrieked.

He looked at her, intending to yell, when he saw a red mark on her jaw. "Shit Vic, I didn't mean to elbow you, that was an accident." He stammered, reaching out to touch her face.

"No, no, you do not get to touch me, not anymore. Just like, you don't get to tell me what to do, where to do it, who to date, snog, shag or anything else I may choose to do. You get no say. Ever again!" She cried, literally, tears poured down her face.

He reached for her and she pulled away. "That was an accident, I didn't mean to do that, you know I wouldn't do that."

She laughed harshly and to his surprise began to undo the rest of the buttons on her blouse pulling it off and letting it hang off her shoulders, letting it lay loos around her elbows, exposing her strappy clingy undershirt and the tops of her arms, where purple bruises were already blossoming on her skin. He stared in horror. He had done that.

"Really? An accident? So you didn't intentionally grab me hard enough to do this?" he traced his fingers over the bruise and she yelped and flinched away, stepping back. She had never pulled away from him before. Then again, he had never hurt her before.

"I said don't touch me, not now, not ever again. Just, stay away from me."

He watched helplessly as she took off down the corridor, shirt still undone. He leaned against the wall and sighed heavily, dropping his face in his hands, how could he have done this?


	2. Chapter 2: Think Before You Speak

Chapter Two

**Think Before You Speak**

It was the day before the anniversary, and as it had been for the last sixteen years, Hogwarts would shut down for three days, the day before, the day of and the day after the final battle. It was a way to still commemorate those who had been lost, his father had told him, well his Godfather that was. As Teddy got older he found himself trying to qualify the two in his head more and more. Don't mistake it, he adored Harry, he loved him as much, honestly, maybe more than Remus Lupin. That was part of the problem. Shouldn't one love their biological father more? As he understood more and more about the years that had past, he understood less and less about himself, and that thoroughly confused him.

"Uhm Teddy? It is time, are you coming?" Molly had asked timidly. Teddy hadn't spoken to any of them in nearly two days, and he and Vic were alarmingly, obviously angry at one another, which was unheard of. Molly wasn't entirely certain how to approach her oldest cousin.

To her relief he looked up and met her Weasley blue eyes with his stormy gray ones, an odd color for him to wear, usually he mimicked uncle Harry's vivid green.

"I am." He muttered as he stood and threw his bag over his shoulder.

The kids always flooed home using the headmistress' fire for the anniversary, and Teddy had to say he was glad. He hated walking down the main staircase at Hogwarts. At the tenth year anniversary they had dedicated it to those who died in the battle and each person's name was engraved on the hand rail, he couldn't bear to let his hand run over the banister, to feel the stone rough and bumpy with the names of the dead. He followed Molly through to McGonagall's office where they would floo in to Potter manor, as they had every year since he started Hogwarts. He remained silent, his thoughts running rampant through his head. He noticed Victoire in front of him, and set his jaw in a hard line.

He felt bad, horribly so, for hurting her, but he didn't feel guilty for his reasons. In fact he felt justified, even more so since seeing her wrap herself around Gavin McLaggen on numerous occasions in the last two days. He was sure she was doing it to piss him off. It was working. Every time he looked at the damn map their names were together on it, he was about to lose his mind. And the issue was that he couldn't even blame it completely on being protective of her, sure that was a huge part of it, but sometimes it felt different. He didn't think that even had he seen her snogging another fourth year that he would have taken it any better. Well, he may not have been quite as furious but he knew that he would have still been upset about it. He had never been more confused in his life.

He stepped forward after Victoire and threw the glittering dust into the fire and spun off to his home, towards his family. He was desperately hoping for something, anything, normal, just something that he could be happy about and understand. Was that too much to ask for? He stumbled out of the ornate fireplace, the final one of the cousins to come through. He found himself falling blindly into a pair of strong arms. He instantly recognized the scent of the aftershave and the touch of the man that truly was his father in every way that mattered. He sagged into his arms, desperately trying not to cry in relief in front of the entire family.

He knew that Harry suspected something when he squeezed him tighter and for a moment longer than was entirely necessary. He ruffled his hair, Teddy felt the curls flop back to his forehead and winced. They would know instantly that something was wrong. He hadn't thought about not being able to change his appearance. He hardly ever wore the sandy blonde curls. He hated them, he thought he looked six when he had them. They reminded him of everything the war had stolen from him, when he wore them. Suddenly he was cut in half by a sharp blow to his waist.

"Teddy!" a high pitched voice screamed.

In spite of himself he laughed and lifted his six year old little sister. "Hey little girl, how is my favorite princess?" he said with the same smile that had won him many girlfriends.

"I missted you. Don't ever leave again." She whined, throwing her face into his shoulder.

"Have you been good? Jamie has kept all those pesky boys from Dumbledore Academy away right?" he said, kissing her cheek.

She nodded. "Don't worry, I keep em away myself. They all know I am gonna grow up and marry you." She said proudly.

"But I'm your brother, you can't marry me silly girl."

"Do you want me to find a boyfriend?" she said cheekily.

"You know what, marry me, it is the best idea I have ever heard." He said with a smile.

He heard his mum's laugh and leaned into her hug, his face entirely consumed with dark ruby red hair, as it flowed both from mother and daughter.

"Hey mum." He muttered.

"Hey Teddy bear. I am happy to see you." She said with a smile and a kiss on his cheek.

"Where are the demons?" he asked, looking around the room. He spotted them quickly, James was bouncing around Roxxy, talking a mile a minute, and Al was sitting on the steps with Rosie, both of them absorbed in whatever conversation that an 8 year old could carry with such serious looks on their faces.

"They are around somewhere." Ginny said. Come on, Trixie made a big meal and then everyone is going home, we are going to meet up tomorrow.

He nodded and followed her through, that was probably the best idea he had ever heard, at least in the last several days. He sat Lily down and she instantly took the seat beside of him, it was impossible not to notice the look on several of the adult's faces when Victoire chose not to sit in the empty seat at his other side but sat beside her mother instead, a few seats down. He scowled at his plate until the happy smell of chocolate, dirt, dungbombs and sweets made him look over. He smiled at James and then Albus who had wrapped his arms around his neck from behind.

"Hey shortstuff's, how are my favorite trouble makers doing?" he said, sweeping a hand through Al's untidy mess of black hair and pointing him to take the seat opposite him. The little boy ran round the table to take the proffered seat.

"We miss you Teddy, are you sure you have to go back?" he whined.

James nodded enthusiastically at this idea, "Yeah you could just stay home with us and then go back with me when I start in two years." He suggested.

"Oooorrrrr, you could even take another year off, and go with me!" Albus said with a grin.

Teddy laughed at their plan, "You know, right now that sounds like a brilliant idea, I would much rather be here with you three than back at Hogwarts." He said as he placed a portion of shepherd's pie onto his plate.

"Teddy not wanting to go back to Hogwarts? Now I know something is up, you nearly hyperventilate every year wanting to go back early." Harry chuckled.

"Yeah, well, this is the first time I have sat through an OWL year." Teddy grumbled.

"Ah, point well made." Harry said with a grin.

"Do you remember OWL year Harry? I am surprised we made it out unscathed." Ron said as he took a bite of his food.

Hermione laughed from beside him, "We didn't. We all have scars from that year." She said, shaking her head.

Ron flushed and shook back his sleeve, looking at the long white welts that scared his arm. Teddy glanced at Harry and saw him look at the back of his hand.

"Right, I sometimes forget we were so young for all of that." Ron mumbled. "So what is wrong with our resident quidditch captain, you seem down Ted, moreso than because of exams, I might add. Though I agree, they were dreadful."

"It is nothing." He mumbled.

"He WHAT!" Bill shouted from the other end of the table.

Teddy felt the blood drain from his face.

"Uhm, I should go." He stammered as he stood to make a retreat, he hadn't thought about the entirely still visible bruise on Victoire's face. Really she could have lied about it. He hadn't even thought about her telling the truth. He tried to escape as everyone's eyes were trained on the eldest of his uncles, did he mention that Vic's dad was a curse breaker and incredibly scary? No? Oh, well he was.

"Don't move." Bill's voice boomed as he was half way to the door.

Teddy froze in place, not from magic or anything, but from fear entirely. He might not have been scared of Gavin McLaggen but he was damn terrified of Bill Weasley. He caught the confused look on Harry's face as he glanced between his oldest son, as he had always considered Teddy, and his brother in law. Teddy gave him a pleading look before turning to see Bill towering over him.

"You bruised her face!" he growled.

He saw Harry's head, whip towards Victoire who indeed had a very blue and green bruise on her jaw. His mouth thinned as he turned his face back to Teddy. Well there went that accomplice.

"It wasn't like that, it was an accident." Teddy spluttered.

"Pahleahse." Victoire said from her seat. "Accident my arse."

"Victoire, language." Bill said in a hard voice. Before walking over and pulling her from her seat towards Teddy.

As he did she yelped and when she pulled away her light spring jacket had slipped from her shoulders, Teddy outright groaned when he saw the mottled bruised skin. He was going to die today, he really was. Bill's eyes practically bugged out of his head upon seeing the previously undiscovered marks on his oldest daughter.

"What in the bloody hell is this?" he shouted, Teddy winced.

"Daddy, language." Victoire said in her cheeky tone. Teddy bit his cheek so as not to laugh as Bill glared at her and she shrank back. He turned on Teddy, "You, explain." How could he do this without getting her in trouble or him dying in front of his little brothers and sister.

"Well those, well, they were accidental too, less so than her face, but accidental none the less." He squeaked.

"How is flinging me across the kitchen corridor by my arms a sodding accident?" Victoire said, anger lacing her voice.

Teddy glanced at his cousins that went to school with them, their mouths were open, staring at the pair. They knew something had happened between the two, nearly the entire school did, but they had no idea what. His aunts, uncles, grandparents (both sets) and mum and dad looked torn between confusion and anger.

"You know that was an accident, I never meant to leave a mark on you!" he growled, trying to keep his temper. "And your face was because of my elbow, you can't even pretend like that was my fault. You don't try and hold a guy back when they try and hit someone. I don't think that you want to do this here Vic."

"What?" Bill said, obviously still outraged.

"You do not get to call me Vic." She demanded, stomping her foot, and yelling over her father.

Teddy actually laughed at how much she reminded him of the child version of herself in that moment. They were both only staring at each other now, completely ignoring Bill.

"And I think that this is a fine place. Or don't you want people to know that you hit a girl?"

"I never hit you!" Teddy said, outraged "And you know it. Quit being such a prissy little drama queen princess and own up to the fact that this is all, every single bit, your fault."

"How is it my fault, you are the one that threw me, you are the one that I had to keep out of a fight, you are the one that won't mind their bloody business!" she yelled.

In the moment, they both completely forgot about their stunned family sitting only feet from them.

"And you are the one that was letting an of age wizard put his hands up your blouse and skirt! What the effing hell do you want me to do with that! You can't do that!" he shouted.

"Yes, yes I can, and how was I supposed to know you were going to see it? It isn't like I was in your room with the guy, who happens to be my boyfriend."

"He happens to be a skirt chasing twat. And you were in the hall to the kitchens. Let's be realistic here Vic, pick a father, either one, I know about the kitchens, I go there, it doesn't matter if you pick the Remus in me or the Harry in me, they both passed it down, I practically LIVE in the kitchens. You know that. And no matter where you were, you were in public!"

"Well I wasn't exactly paying attention to the hall I was in." she seethed. "And it isn't your business anyway."

"It is! It is my business when a guy puts his hand up your skirt!" he said, he could hear his heart in his ears.

"How is that your business?" she screamed.

"Because unlike that fucking son of a bitch, I actually care who you are and what people think and say about you. I care that you aren't ready for that. Even if you don't! I saw you freeze up, I was there, I saw him keep kissing you, I saw him try to go farther and I saw you NOT STOP HIM WHEN YOU OBVIOUSLY WANTED TO! That is why it is my business and that is why I jerked you out of his arms, why I accidentally bruised your arms. And, that is why I tried to punch him, which is why you got elbowed in the face which is why this all started in the first place!" he yelled back.

"STOP!" Harry's voice boomed.

Suddenly Teddy realized that he was standing right beside him and his much stronger hand was clenched over Teddy's wrist.

'Both of you. Stop, right now. This instant."

Teddy and Victoire both looked into each other's eyes, neither one feeling anger in that moment, both feeling like there were five again and were about to get spanked. Victoire glanced up at her father who was looking at her with his mouth in a firm line.

"You-you, let him, of age? In a hallway?" he couldn't form coherent sentences.

He turned to Harry, his eyes widened. Harry bit his lip. Bill turned back and looked at Teddy, a fierce look in his eyes.

"If I ever find another mark on her, I am coming to find you first. Understood?' he said in a low voice.

Teddy nodded frantically. "Yes, yes sir. It really was an acc-"

"Stop." Harry said, silencing him with a glare. "Tell her that you are sorry, that is all you are going to say right now."

Swallowing, both his fear and his pride, he looked at Victoire. "I am, I am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. In any way." He mumbled. He glanced back at Bill.

"As it is, I don't know whether to strangle you or hug you." Bill said in a strained voice.

"What!" Victoire cried.

"You, home, now." He said, pointing to the fireplace. Teddy flinched, he hadn't wanted to get her in trouble.

"Room." Was all Harry said.

Teddy nodded, "Yes sir." And rushed up the stairs to his room


	3. Chapter 3: Punishment

**_Thank you for the strong response already!_**

**_You are all awesome._**

**_In reply to a question, Harry and Gin will be in this a bit._**

**_Durring holidays and family stuff._**

**_And I will go back to them a good bit while the kiddos are still little._**

**_Though mainly, we will be at Hogwarts._**

Chapter Three

**Punishments**

His room was dark, he was staring at the enchanted stars on his ceiling, he had been in there for what felt like hours. But he wasn't suicidal he wasn't going to be the one to go downstairs. This was bad, it was really bad. He didn't even know who was in more trouble him or Victoire. Well, if he was honest with himself, probably Victoire, he had pretty much told her dad that she let herself get groped in public. What was the matter with him? She was never going to talk to him again. He sighed as his door opened, letting in a stream of light, before it closed again. The small lamp by the door was lit, casting yellowed shadows across the room and making his eyes burn. The bed dipped as his father sat beside him.

"What were you thinking?" he said, baffled.

"Obviously I wasn't." Teddy remarked, wishing it hadn't come off so cheeky.

"Don't talk to me like that. I don't care how old you are." Harry snapped. The warning was clear.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it to come off like that." He whimpered, no matter how old he got, he was sure he would always be scared of getting spanked by his father. Irrational as that was.

"Now, what happened? What really happened, all of it?"

"Just what I said, only it, it, well it happened twice in a week. And that second time, he had her leg pulled up and you could see all the way up it, you could see the edge of her knickers, believe me, they were blue, I saw em."

"I believe you." Harry mumbled, shaking his head.

"I saw her freeze when he put his hand on her leg. She completely stopped kissing him. He didn't even stop to see why, he just kept kissing her, ignoring the fact that she wasn't sure what she wanted, or that she was a nervous fourteen year old. Or that he had her in a very public place. I just, I lost it. I completely lost it. I did not mean to hurt her. I swear I didn't."

Harry was reminded for a second of himself when he and Ron had caught Ginny snogging Dean. "I know you didn't. That much is obvious. To everyone. Why did you grab her so hard Ted? You know not to grab a girl like that, I can overlook the face, yeah, it is bad, but it was a blatant accident. You really didn't mean to do that at all. But you grabbed her and practically threw her."

"I know." He moaned. "I regret it now, well, I don't. But I do regret grabbing her so hard. He is such a prick, dad. He is awful. You have no idea." He stammered.

"I am sure I have some idea." He said, thinking of the only other Maclaggen he knew.

"I can't explain it. I got so so mad. You know how we were talking a few years back. And how you and the healers figured out that as I get older that some of my dad's wolfy senses have kicked in? The smell, the sight, and I get overly upset and stuff?"

Harry nodded, he didn't see how Teddy would think they forgot about that particular revelation, but he was a teenager after all.

"It was like that, but it had nothing to do with it, well maybe the really hard grip but not the anger. And the thing is, I don't even know that it would have mattered that I know she didn't want that. I think I would have done the same thing had she wanted it. It was just seeing her with him, and with the other boys before. I don't even think this is fixable, I don't think we can even be friends again." He said, a heavy rock settling into his stomach.

Harry looked at him sympathetically. "Ted, do you, what I mean to say is. Victoire, do you just? Wow I don't even know how to ask you this." He mused outloud.

Teddy laughed, he could understand the confusion.

"I guess what I am trying to say is why does seeing her with other boys bother you so much? Other than the obvious fact of seeing her be disrespected like that. But it seems to me that you don't even like seeing her date other boys, in fact the only time I have seen you argue with one another has been over her boyfriends." Harry said honestly.

Teddy rolled and buried his face in his pillow. "I don't know." He said muffled. "I wish I did, I really wish I did. It is different, she isn't the same, I'm not the same. It is almost like she is an actual girl all of a sudden, which is daft, she has always been a girl, I know that sounds idiotic."

"No, I understand entirely, I assure you." Harry said fervently. His honesty was so blatant that Teddy sat up and looked at him square in the face.

"Explain, how, do you, know."

"Well, your mum, Ginny that is. I viewed her as a little sister for years, or just dismissed her entirely. It wasn't until my sixth year, her fifth, that I realized that I liked her. I have never been more confused in my life, terrified and confused I should say. I was sure Ron was going to kill me." He laughed at the memory. "Incidentally enough, I realized it when I caught her snogging another boy in the halls after quidditch. Took me nearly the whole year to act on it though."

"I-I-I don't even know what to say to that." Teddy said, making Harry laugh. "I mean it is you and mum, surely you were never young enough to go through this stuff."

Harry smacked the back of his head playfully. "Laugh it up funny man. We were only sixteen and seventeen when you were born. You don't even want to think about the things we got up to while we were baby sitting you."

"EWE! Stop, stop now, this is punishment enough." Teddy whined.

"So tell me, why so upset over the boyfriends? It isn't like you haven't had your fair share of girls."

Teddy smiled grimly. "I know that. I just don't know why it bugs me now when it didn't before it. It was like someone flicked a switch in my head one day and I don't know how to flick it back. I mean, it isn't that I like her like that, she is my cousin." He stammered.

"Oh, but Teddy, she isn't. You were raised that way, yes. But by blood, she is not."

"I-I- I- you are right." He said, stunned. "Effing hell." He chastised himself.

"Mouth!" Harry said.

"Right, sorry."

"Your hair, you left it natural."

"It won't change, not since the fight, I got upset and now it won't change back."

"It has happened before. It will come back to you." Harry assured him as he stood and walked to the door.

Teddy nodded, remembering all too well the only other time he had no control over his morphing.

"And Ted."

Teddy turned his head to look at where his father was leaned against the door frame.

"Yeah?"

"You are grounded."

Teddy sighed, "I figured as much."

"This break and the first three weeks of summer holiday."

"Right."

"No flying while at home."

"But I promised Jamie."

"No flying for the first three weeks of summer. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. I am glad you are home son." He said in a softer voice.

"Me too dad."

0o0o0o

Teddy hated the anniversary. She knew that. In fact the only thing that made it bearable for him was her birthday. She had rarely seen him smile on that day, except for her. Victoire was sitting at one of the long tables staring at a lone figure. He was sitting on the secluded side of the burrow, his cloak wrapped loosely around him and his head in his hands, he looked truly miserable.

"You should talk with him." Her mother said, sitting beside her.

"I don't think he deserves for me to talk to him." Victoire sniffed, lying as much to herself as her mum.

"Really? You don't theenk that a boy that would stand up for your integrity is worth talking too? Where on this Earth did we go wrong." Fleur said dramatically.

"You know you could have taken my side, even if just a little bit. I am your daughter." She said, flipping her platinum blonde hair and looking into her mum's ice blue eyes that mirrored her own.

"I did, I do. But not on all theengs." Victoire rolled her eyes, her mother's accent was very light now, but it was still noticeable, specifically when she was upset or serious. "I theenk that you have the right to date whom and how you choose. But I am also theenking that you are being fleepant with your choices."

"Yes, you made that quite clear. It isn't as if we were headed back to the dorm to shag you know."

"No, I know, and I trust that you would have come to your senses before then. But you were being very open in a very public place."

"He shouldn't have told you guys that. A friend wouldn't do that."

"You can't blame him with that. You did that. He just lost his temper when you and your father started in on him."

"He bruised me!"

"And on that, I am on your side, I say bruise him back." Fleur said, her eyes narrowing at the sulking Teddy. "Only, maybe, not today. Go talk with him."

"I don't want to"

"And I am not giving you the option. Consider it part of your punishment."

"This should be illegal." She grumbled standing and walking over to the side of the crooked house.

She didn't notice several of the adults' eyes follow her nervously, including her uncle Harry's and her own father's. She slid down the wall, her side and hair's breadth from touching his.

He could feel his skin tingling at her presence.

"I am still not talking to you." She said stubbornly.

He didn't lift his head. "I was not under the impression that you were." He mumbled.

"I am being forced by means of punishment to do this." She grunted.

"Some punishment, I am grounded now, and for three weeks at the beginning of summer." He said. "I didn't mean to blurt out what happened. You know I never would have walked up to someone and told them what happened under normal circumstances."

"Right."

"You know me better than that, I wouldn't have done that. And you know it." He argued.

"I am not so sure anymore." She said.

He huffed, she was so stubborn it was infuriating. "Oh yes, because a two day fight erases a lifetime of knowing someone." He deadpanned.

"What if it does?" she said quietly.

He looked at her in shock, hurt swam in his eyes. "Then there isn't any reason that you are over here."

"Except, for the punishment, of course." She said quietly, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms round them.

He dropped his face back into his hands, "Right, there is that."

"I am so mad at you." She said.

"I am mad at you." He replied, though his voice was muffled.

"I am not breaking up with him." She sniffed.

He laughed discompassionately, "I never asked you to."

"Liar." She said, glancing around to see that no one could hear them arguing as Teddy lifted his head and looked into her eyes. She was startled to not only see tears glistening in his eyes but the telltale tracks running down his face. Teddy never cried, in fact she had rarely seen him even come close to crying since after he had been kidnapped.

"No, I never told you to break up with him, not once. You never heard those words." He said.

"I think your message was quite clear."

"Well, maybe if you were really, really, good at reading through the lines." He replied.

"Oh yes, or you know, if you could hear, and understand English, or even know what normal human body language means in its most primitive form." She said sarcastically.

"Or that too. Smart ass." He said with a slight smile.

"Don't let them hear you, we will get more punishment. If you two don't watch your mouths." She badly imitated her father's voice.

"Because Merlin forbid you be forced to sit and talk with me again."

"And you call me the smart ass?" she said with a grin.

He reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a long thin package with a silver and blue bow and handed it to her.

"Happy Birthday." He said quietly.

"You got me a present? After the row we have been having?"

"Well in my defense, I got it well before the row. That, has actually only been even starting to brew for the last few weeks. And I bought this at Christmas. I do have some idea of when your birthday is, you know." He had refrained from saying, unlike your boyfriend.

She shook her head at his tone. "Well yes, but I can't believe you gave it to me."

He shrugged, "We could fight for the next decade and I would still get you a gift every year."

She stared at the package but it remained unopened. "I am sorry. For starting the fight at lunch yesterday, I should have just been quiet."

"I am sorry that you have bruises." He looked sadly at the one on her face. "They really were accidental, I never, ever meant to hurt you. I would never do something like that to anyone, especially not you. I really do care about you Vic. It just overwhelmed me at the time."

"I believe you. Doesn't change that you did though."

"I know."

"Teddy?" she said quietly.

He looked away from his hands to her face.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright? I mean with today and everything?" her voice whisper quiet.

"I have been better, that is for certain." He murmured, mimicking her pose and pulling his legs to his chest, resting his forehead on his knees. "I am sure that your punishment is over by now, you don't have to stay." He said.

She nodded and stood. "Right, well…I guess…Right." she stammered before standing. She seemed torn on what she wanted to do and what she thought she should do. In the end she huffed and proceeded in walking away, pretending not to notice the tears slipping down the side of her best friend's face, or the ones she felt in her own eyes. No matter what, Teddy would always be her best friend. At least she hoped he would be.

She walked into the house and took a seat on the sofa in the empty sitting room. To her dismay her mother soon followed.

"He doesn't look very cheered up." She said blandly.

"You should have been more specific. You merely said I was to talk to him. I did."

"Victoire, you cannot stay mad at him. You must understand as irritating as it is he only interfered because he loves you. That would be like Ginny staying mad at Harry when he left to fight the war."

"That was entirely different, aaannnnddd, Teddy does not love me. We do not have THAT kind of relationship. Not to mention that Teddy does not love girls, he dates them and leaves them."

"Be that as it may, I meant he loves you as his best friend." Fleur said. "Though I am theenking you should examine your own thoughts on the other matter, as your mind was the one that went in that direction."

She didn't miss her daughter's blush creep up her cheeks. They silenced as more of the family spilled into the house, before Fleur fell into a conversation with Harry and Ginny. Victoire remained silent and pensive, and tried to show no emotion when Teddy walked up and tapped Harry on the shoulder. His red rimmed eyes and splotched raw cheeks were obvious.

"May I go home, please?" he asked in a choked voice.

Harry looked at him searchingly. "You are sixteen son, you are welcome to go home if you wish. Do you want me to come with you?"

"Not particularly." Teddy said, looking at his feet.

"Alright, just use the floo." Harry replied nodding towards the fire.

"Uhm," Teddy bit his lip nervously. "I know I am grounded and all."

Harry raised his eye brows, obviously surprised that he was even attempting to test this limit.

"But I was wondering, before I go home. Can I stop by gramma's I didn't get to go see my mum and dad yet today." His eyes sparkled and to Victoire's immense surprise a few tears found their way to his cheeks.

Harry's face smoothed, losing all signs of the telling off he had been about to give. "Teddy, you know that you never even have to ask. Of course you can go. Just be safe, you know the password into Andromeda's, I don't think she is there though. She was going early this morning she is probably at home with your Grandfather. Just be careful and be home by five alright?"

Teddy nodded. "Alright. Thank you." He turned and walked to the fireplace, he stopped quickly after throwing the powder from the jar in. "Happy Birthday Victoire." He said softly, stepping into the house and saying clearly, "Tonks' residence."

Ginny looked at Harry worriedly. "Should one of us go after him?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I think he just wants to be alone." He sighed, before standing and walking to the backyard.


	4. Chapter 4: Of Quidditch and Conversation

Chapter Four

**Of Quidditch and Conversations**

He would be returning to the castle the following morning. He really should be asleep. Instead, he was staring at the stars twinkling on his ceiling. A knock sounded on his door frame, he glanced over to see it already open slightly.

"Hey Ted, do you think I can come in?"

"Sure." He sighed not really willing to put effort into anything.

Harry walked through the darkness, surprisingly leaving the light off. He felt the bed sink beside him where Harry sat. They remained silent for several minutes. Both waiting for the other to speak.

"Was there something specific you wanted?" Teddy asked. He flinched at the way it had sounded as it came from his mouth. His father didn't take attitude very well.

"Well, yes. I know you are upset." He started slowly.

"That is an understatement." Teddy snapped.

"Anyways… I need to talk to you. About, well, it isn't really about Vic, well it is, sort of, but, really, uhm."

"Dad, I leave for school in eight hours, start the conversation." He could almost hear the scowl in his father's voice.

"This is not my fault. I would appreciate you drop the attitude, unless you need my assistance in dropping it." Harry said sharply.

"Right, sorry." Teddy murmured, he shifted in his spot, he hated it when his dad was angry with him. It was silent for a few minutes, he felt Harry lean into the corner of the wall at the bottom of the bed.

"Are you having sex?" Harry said bluntly.

Teddy sat straight up. "WHAT!"

"You heard me. I didn't stutter." Harry said back, the embarrassment seeping through his calm façade.

"I-I- why would you ask me that?"

"Because, I am your father and it is my job to ask that." Harry said firmly.

"You went and lost parchment, dagger, boulder with mum again, didn't you?"

"That is beside the point. And not to mention, she threw up that you were a boy and that it was my job. She agreed to do Lily's." He sighed.

Teddy laughed nervously. "Can't we just tell mum we talked about it and go about our way? We can talk about quidditch instead."

"Unfortunately not. We need to have this talk. We have made it quite far without having it, I must say." He said, "But, if you just make this easy on me, I promise I will make it as painless and uninformative as possible on my end." he said, nudging Teddy's shoulder.

Teddy huffed and let his head fall back, it thunked against the wall. "No, I am not having sex."

"Alright, have you ever had sex?" Harry asked.

"No, no I haven't."

"So, you haven't done anything?"

"I didn't say that." Teddy evaded. "You can't tell me you hadn't, you know, done anything with a girl by the time you were sixteen." He tried to justify.

"Actually I can tell you that." Harry mumbled.

"But-But- all the stuff you did, boy who lived, tri wizard champion, you beat a dragon for Merlin's sake!" Teddy spluttered. "I am more popular just because I am your son."

"Well, I was only running around trying to kill the biggest threat ever known to wizarding kind. That didn't leave much time. And I didn't realize I liked your mum until the end of my sixth year, I was a bit thick when it came to witches. I blame your Uncle Ron." He said with a shrug that Teddy felt but didn't see. "So, if we are talking quidditch. How far through this match are you? Just scored your first goal, taken a run on the snitch, or you are just about to wrap your fingers around it?"

Teddy laughed out loud at Harry's terrible euphemism. "I am not sure of your clarifications on each one, but if I am picking, I am gonna say there have been a few runs on the snitch and I just saw it hovering about ten feet away." Teddy said, so overcome with giggles that he couldn't even be embarrassed about this conversation.

"Right, so then, I think we need to learn a spell, just in case."

"We have already had that class. I think they covered it." Teddy said, remembering the two seventh years that had taught them.

"Yes well, I have taught that class and I know how unthorough hormone riddled seventh years can be." Harry grumbled, causing Teddy to laugh even harder he knew how you got sentenced to teaching that class.

"But I thought you hadn't done anything with a girl?" he challenged.

"I was eighteen by then thank you very much."

Teddy laughed, shaking his head, this was not going as expected.

"Alright, here is the thing, and I know you know this but I am telling you anyways. Catching the snitch, I am not going to try and lie. It is great, but just, wait until you and her are ready. And it shouldn't be that you are ready to feel that, it should be that you are ready to be there with that girl. It should be someone special. You don't have to wait for marriage, I know it is unrealistic, though I would appreciate it if you would, but you do need to wait until you really love someone. And you must wait until she is ready. Don't pressure her." Harry said flatly.

"And, what if she pressures you and you feel really stupid for stopping? I mean…I think that I have had five games this year and two of them had pretty close snitches until my team forfeited, even though the damn snitch flew right at me and tried to fall into my lap." Teddy muttered, he was sure his face was redder than a quaffle.

Harry chuckled at the game they were still playing. "Well, I would be lying if I said I was unimpressed with your five games. Your uncles Ron, and George, Sirius and my father would be so proud." He said not joking in the least, with a grin. "If I can ask, why did you uhm forfeit?"

"I don't know. I just did and then I break up with them right after, like within days. We get close, whether that be in quidditch or just I don't know like overly friendly. And I can't do it, I want to, but I can't. I want to, believe me, I want to, but not with that specific uhm player, and not right then. I don't so much want my first…erm…win? To be in a broom closet." He said with a shrug. "I don't think I would be a very good player in there." He muttered, Harry could hear the embarrassment creeping back in.

"Too right, it is difficult to be that best player that first one as it is, dirty brooms would only hinder things. On the map, you know the passage under the willow, the one that lead to the shrieking shack?" Teddy nodded.

"It still leads there, into the cellar."

"But the shack is gone, it is our old house now." Teddy said dumbly.

"It is, and it is still ours. I didn't sell it, I couldn't. The path leads to the cellar, but it has a password now at the end. The password is felix felicis." Harry said simply.

"Are you giving me permission to sneak off the grounds? Wait, better question. Are you giving me permission to catch the snitch!" Teddy spluttered.

"No, not exactly." He said with a smile. "I am giving you permission to not be thick and to well, just don't be a royal git alright? I want you to be safe, and healthy about it. Dirty broom cupboards are unsanitary, besides, I don't want you to have to teach that class. And I am realistic. But I will warn you, if you go there and I find any evidence of it, or if your mum finds out that I told you this. I will curse you myself and then hand you to your mum to finish off. Be smart about it. Now, about that charm."

0o0o0o0o0o

Teddy was walking to the great hall with Ollie and Tarryn, their fellow dorm mate.

"I hate that class. Who cares about an inner eye?" Tarryn moaned.

"I told you not to take it. You should have done arithmancy with us." Ollie said with a shrug.

Teddy wasn't paying too close attention. His eyes were locked on Molly with her long red pony tail, and based on the yellow and black scarf, Lysander hand in hand. He sighed deeply. Give Hogwarts another month and it was going to rip his family in two. He wondered if Roxxy knew about this development. And if she did, how she was dealing with it?

"Oi, Teddy!" Ollie yelled, punching him lightly in the shoulder, causing him to stumble down a few stairs.

"What!" he snapped

Ollie pointed towards the hall leading away from the great hall to where Victoire was walking with Gavin. He saw the glint of the sapphires that she wore around her wrist. She had worn it since their return, even though she hadn't opened the gift in front of him, she obviously had after.

He shrugged and walked into the hall, following his feet to the Gryffindor table. "Not my place to say anything."

"Since when?" Tarryn said with a laugh. "Victoire is always your place."

"Yeah, well she has made it perfectly clear that, that, is not the case." He grumbled.

"Hey el cap-ee-tan.!" Sixth year beater Rory Donald said, sitting across from them.

He looked up from picking at his Cornish pasty. "Yeah?"

"I have detention tonight." Rory said with a grimace.

"We only have three practices until the Ravenclaw match." Teddy said in exasperation. Rory often found himself in detention.

"Yeah, I know, this one really wasn't my fault. I was framed by that twat McLaggen. Effing sod, he put a firework in his own cauldron and told Portland that I threw it."

Teddy swore under his breath. "I hate him. I mean I physically hate him. Do the detention, but if you so much as sneeze in a class and get caught before this match, I swear, your broom will be shoved up your arse so far you won't have to worry about holding onto it during the match."

Everyone within hearing distance flinched at the unpleasant image.

"Heard and understood." Rory said, quickly getting up and rushing to a spot far away from his captain.

"I have to win this match." He said firmly looking at Ollie, who was his other chaser.

"Well if for some reason, Merlin forbid, we don't. I am not sleeping in our dorm that week." Ollie replied.

"Maybe you should suggest to your beaters that if you lose they should hit a bludger at him so he spends the next week in the hospital wing cooling down." Tarryn false whispered. Ollie laughed loudly, considering Tarry was one of the said beaters.

Teddy glared at Tarryn and Ollie in turn, "If we lose, I will be blaming the two of you." He growled before standing and leaving the table, pushing his blonde curls from his eyes.

"Lupin! You didn't eat!" Ollie yelled as Teddy walked to the doors.

Teddy waived him off and continued walking. His mind was wandering idly when he heard a slightly raised voice ahead of himself. He bit his tongue to keep his mouth shut. He couldn't mistake Victoire's voice in a thousand years.

"I just don't want to right now. Can we not do something other than snog?"

"Come on Tori, it is the most fun thing that we do." Gavin said.

Teddy gagged silently to himself. He hated the way all the boys in school called her Tori. Only her family called her by Vic, something Teddy had started when he was too young to say her name correctly.

"Let's just, walk the grounds or something." She said.

Teddy narrowed his eyes at Gavin's back as he shrugged her off and pulled his hand from hers. "It's fine, I have a few essays I need to get written, I won't be doing homework this weekend, what with the match and the victory party." He said.

Teddy wanted to punch him. It was perhaps a lucky thing that he was having trouble morphing, as his blonde hair didn't attract the eye, and most people didn't even recognize him in this form at first glance, well unless Vic saw him, then he was screwed.

"I wouldn't completely disregard Teddy. They are extremely good. He has a talented team. You will have to fight if you want to win. His seeker is his weakest position." Victoire said softly. Teddy growled, what happened to house loyalty?

"Please, I will have to wash his blood off my robes when I am done with that parentless prat."

"That was uncalled for." Victoire said in an eerily quiet voice.

"That's the truth." He shrugged, "See ya Tori." He called before kissing her cheek and walking away.

Teddy turned his head so he wouldn't be noticed. He watched Victoire walk in silence,, an idea striking him he put on a burst of speed and ran past her, silently sending a severing charm at his bag, causing the contents to spill out everywhere.

'Damn it." He muttered, smiling slightly when she stooped and picked up three of his books. She was so predictable. He stood and pushed his hair from his face. "Thanks Vic- er- Victoire." He muttered.

"Where are you running to so fast?" she asked curiously, handing him the stack after he was through repairing his bag.

"My room." He said with a shrug.

"We are nowhere near Gryffindor tower Ted." She said with raised eyebrows.

"I know that, I am not going to the dorm, I am going to my room." He reiterated.

She looked at him for a while before comprehension dawned. "Room of Requirement?"

He nodded. "Give that girl ten points."

She grinned and continued to walk beside him. "Why are we going there?"

He didn't miss the "we" part of the sentence.

"I have had a really bad two weeks, and I honestly would rather be home than here."

She frowned slightly as they finished pacing and walked through the low door and into Teddy's room from the manor, thinking nothing of it. They had done this several times since her second year.

"So how many girls have you brought in here?" she asked, curiosity showing in her eyes.

He turned and looked at her searchingly. "Including you?"

She nodded.

"One."

"What? No one else, just me?" she said doubtfully.

"No one else. Just you." He assured her. "My dad told me a long time ago I couldn't have girls in my room, I guess I took it to heart."

She continued to frown as she sat on the replica of his bed and pulled his stuffed wolf into her arms, a habit she had picked up years and years ago.

"In case you haven't noticed, I am a girl." She said.

"I noticed. Just recently in fact." He said with a cockeyed smile. She watched his hair ripple with pale blue waves and settle back blonde.

"I don't know whether to irritated or flattered." She mumbled.

He flounced onto the bed beside her. He threw himself back, his feet still on the floor his back on the bed. "I would settle for flattery. After all, I know you are a girl and yet, here you are, in my room." He pointed out.

"I miss this, I miss us Ted." She said so quietly that he couldn't be certain that he had heard it at all.

He reached his hand out and twirled a strand of her long blonde hair, reveling in the fact that she hadn't pulled away from him.

"Well, there is an easy fix to that." He said gently.

"I am not breaking up with Gavin." She said stubbornly.

"I am not asking you to Vic, though if you could refrain from calling him by name, or just call him He Who Must Not Be Named, You Know Who….anything of that nature while in my presence, either of them will be fine with me." He grinned deviously.

She turned and scowled at him, causing the hair to slip from his fingers. "That isn't even funny."

"It is a little bit." He said with an irresistible smile. She began to laugh in response.

"How are we supposed to be alright?" she sighed.

"We don't talk about it, at all. I won't bring it up and you won't. We ignore it completely."

"That is a big thing to ignore." She said, watching the gray eyes be shot through with flecks of green.

"I know it is, but it is that, or continue to ignore each other. Which is easier to live with?"

"So are we just ignoring my love life? Or yours too?" she asked, laying back beside him, turning on her side and propping her head on her hand.

"We don't have to ignore mine, as of the moment it is non-existent." He grunted.

"Since when?"

"Since my father scarred me for life."

"Oh man, what did Uncle Harry do?"

"We had, 'THE TALK'" He said, using air quotes. "It was terrible, I am pretty sure I will never be able to properly play quidditch again, let alone touch a girl."

She giggled hysterically, "Well saying you ever get over the trauma…Do we ignore your sex life too?"

"I don't have a sex life, you have to have sex to have one of those." He said, rolling his eyes.

"You have had sex." She pointed out.

"I have? Damn, I hate I missed that." He said sarcastically.

"You haven't?" she said, frown lines showing on her face.

"Nope, surely haven't. Ask my dad, he can tell you. At least not yet. Though I remain hopeful, that it will happen at some point in my life, maybe even before I am thirty."

"You are such a smart ass." She punched him on the chest, a little harder than necessary.

Teddy smiled and looked up at the ceiling, chewing the inside of his cheek.

"Why did you think I have had sex?"

"Corrinne said the two of you had." She shrugged.

"Yet you didn't ask me? You just took her word for it?" he said, a bit miffed.

"How are you supposed to ask someone that?" she asked with a laugh.

"My dad did just fine. 'Teddy, are you having sex?'" he imitated.

"He did not just outright ask." She said, horrified.

"Oh but he did… So Corrinne huh?"

She nodded, her cheeks pink.

"So do I get to know if I was good or not?" he joked.

"Ungh, you would have to ask her, or one of the other girls in my dorm, I left shortly after the conversation took this turn." She said, scrunching her nose. How had he never noticed how hot that was? Or how her eyes got darker when she got uncomfortable? Or how she wiggled about when she was nervous?

"What, you didn't want to hear about my amazing sexual prowess?" he asked, intrigued.

"Preferably not." She deadpanned. After all, I had heard plenty enough about your hands' ability, I didn't need to hear how good, or not, other parts of your body are." She grumbled.

"Really? Do tell, how are my hands? That I would like to know, you know, for learning purposes."

"Nuh ugh, this is why I left the conversation the first time. It is settled, your sex life is off the table too."

He smiled. "Well, damn, what are we ever going to talk about?"

"Quidditch?" she suggested half heartedly,

"Definitely not." He said, wincing at the memory.


	5. Chapter 5: A Little More Quidditch

**_Thank you for all the reviews and Alerts!_**

**_I am absolutely loving writing this story!_**

**_I hope you like it as much as I do._**

**_I would like to apologize in advance for this one…_**

**_I am terrible at writing quidditch matches,_**

**_I avoid it whenever possible._**

Chapter Five

**A Little More Quidditch**

The entire school would be out watching this game. It decided the quidditch cup. More importantly it truly was a cup game. Both teams were undefeated this year as of yet. Whoever won, won the cup. There was no point margin, nothing. To win the cup, you had to win the game. Add in the two captains and their obvious desire to kill one another and the match was more highly charged than a Gryffindor Slytherin game.

Standing in the locker rooms the Gryffindor team listened to the sound of fans thundering over their heads. Teddy wondered briefly if Vic was going to cheer for her own house or not. He stared into the golden door of his locker and traced the scarlet quidditch number that was engraved on the front. Knowing he had to say something he turned to his team and sighed heavily.

"Alright, we have this game already. You are more talented than them. They are scared shitless and we know it. Thing is, they have reason to be. Tarryn, Adam, I won't make you retry out next year if you knock McLaggen off his broom more than twice." He said with a twinkle in his eyes. The entire team laughed at their spirited captain. His hair was Gryffindor gold with dark red lightning bolts down the sides, careening over the tops of his ears and meeting in the back in a cascade of scarlet stars. His normal quidditch hair in other words He smiled at his seeker. "Rhyan, they are aiming for you. You are a lot smaller than anyone on their team."

"She is smaller than anyone on any team." Came Oliver's observation and chuckle.

"She is smaller than most of the third years." Tarryn added with a grin.

"I might be small but I can still kick your arse. With or without a broomstick I might add."

Teddy smiled at her. Rhyan was a tiny Gryffindor 4th year. She was a dynamite seeker and was faster on a broom than anyone Teddy had ever seen, his parents excluded of course. Her chestnut brown hair was cut in a short chin length flippy little bob thing and her honey colored eyes lit up when she was close to the snitch. She was the newest to the team, only having been on it since her third year. But she was amazingly good, why the other teams underestimated her for her size he'd never understand it. He had to admit, she was startlingly pretty. He sometimes found it hard to concentrate on playing the game when she was around. Remembering to be a captain and not a flirt was sometimes tough. He constantly reminded himself that dating her was a bad idea, especially as he had already gone on several dates with her and Vic's roommate Corrinne. That one had ended badly. And though she didn't really run about with either of them, he knew it wouldn't be good to dater her, even worse for his team. He didn't often maintain good relationships once he broke up with a girl.

"Alright. Rhyan, get to that snitch as fast as you can. Points don't matter, we both have two wins so it is win or lose. Straight forward. If you see the snitch straight out, then catch it." He said. "Just play your game." She nodded at him. He noticed how her face was slightly pale with nerves. "Don't be nervous."

"I'm not." She squeaked, causing the others on the team to laugh.

He glanced around at the team, his third chaser and his keeper were seventh years, they were solid, and wanted to win their final game at Hogwarts to see their name on the cup.

A roar came from the stands as they heard the Gryffindor team called.

"That would be our cue. "He said."

The team followed him out to the center of the pitch, Rhyan directly between himself and Ollie, Tarryn and Adam side by side, with their faces in a hard line. Rory and Sebastian bringing up the tail, smiling into the stands nostalgically.

"The Gryffindor team, with two impressive wins against Slytherin and Hufflepuff earlier this year with 5th year captain Teddy Potter-Lupin at the helm for his first year in the captain's seat."

The two teams met in the middle.

"Alright, captains shake hands."

Teddy and Gavin met one another's eyes. Neither making a move to shake hands at all. Madam Hootch cleared her throat.

"Captains will shake hands or each team with begin the game play with a penalty shot." She said harshly.

Teddy looked at Gavin with a hard look. "We'll take the penalty." He said, turning back to his team.

"I want a clean game, is that understood? It will begin with a penalty shot apiece and loss of 10 points for each house for poor sportsmanship." She blew her whistle as the blue and red in the stands groaned and the two teams shot into the air.

"Well that's a first, a game starting off with two penalty shots and a loss of house points for each team. Granted we all know the rivalry that has been building between these two captains has come to somewhat of a head these last weeks."

As Micah Connors, a 5th year Hufflepuff, prattled on about rivalries Victoire stood in the stands staring at her best friend and her boyfriend speechless. How ridiculous could they be, not even to shake hands?

"The first shot is taken by Cornwall for his captain's foul, he shoots left but it curves to the middle, and Rory Kent saves it for Gryffindor, good save on the seventh year veteran's part. Now this is the shot we have been waiting for. Gryffindor 5th year chaser and captain, Teddy. He has been part of the team since his second year, an astounding feat for any player. He is facing a shot on McLaggen, sixth year Ravenclaw keeper. The very person whose hand he refused to shake. If the two of them make it out of this match alive I for one, will be surprised, and out 6 sickles."

"Connors!"

"Whooop. Sorry your headmistressness."

Laughter emanated from the stands. Harry chuckled from beside of McGonagall. He, Ginny and Bill had come as a surprise to watch Teddy in his first cup match as captain. And seeing as he had told Harry that McLaggen was the opposing captain, Bill had optioned to come and see the boy that dared to date his daughter, and snog her in a hallway.

"What a shot by Teddy! He must have been saving that one, I have never seen a quaffle spiral like that, straight through the keepers hands! Ten points for Gryffindor! Now if he can figure out a way to add them to the house points he lost he will be all caught up." Another ripple of laughter.

"And the true gameplay begins, both of our seekers take off in opposite directions, that was Clint Masters of Ravenclaw, and the incredibly pretty and wickedly fast Rhyan Jones. And yes that would indeed be the youngest daughter of Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies. Man look at that girl fly! Oh what I wouldn't give to be that firestorm." He said.

"CONNORS!"

Neither Harry nor Ginny missed the fact that both the fiery little seeker and Teddy had stopped for a second and glared at the announcer.

"Sorry." He muttered, to tides of laughter, though whether he was apologizing to the professor or Teddy and Rhyan no one knew.

They watched them shoot back off. Teddy took a pass to take possession of the quaffle from Ollie.

"Your son just glared at that announcer." Ginny hissed.

Harry laughed as he watched Teddy flip the red ball backwards to Sebastian who rolled and dropped it into Ollie's hands. "Yes, so I noticed. He is rather protective."

"Do you think he inherited your superhero complex?" she asked as she jumped and clapped for Ollie's goal, smiling when Teddy did a loop de loop to express his own happiness.

"No, I think he may have a bit of a crush. I overheard the name Rhyan over Christmas break, but I assumed he was talking about a bloke. He wouldn't talk about a girl unless there was reason." He said watching Teddy ricochet around the pitch.

There was a groan from the Ravenclaw side. "Oh that looked painful, but he is back up, he seems to be shaking it off. That was Ravenclaw captain Gavin getting thrown from his broom by two bludgers to the back, sent courtesy of the Gryffindor beaters Tarryn and Adam. I don't know what McLGaggen did to offend Gryffindor but they have his number today. And there is a run on the Gryffindor goal by Painte, he shoots, and it is through as a bludger hit by Mitchem distracts Kent.

"Sebastian has the quaffle and he dips to avoid both a bludger and his seeker…Oooh but Jones is winged by the bludger, unable to dodge both it and her teammate. And that is your first time out called by Potter…Lupin... called by Teddy."

Teddy flew over to Rhyan who was panting, rubbing her ribcage on the left side.

"Let me see it." He said.

"Uhm, no." she replied shortly, making her team laugh.

"Oh honestly, we are in the middle of a match, we do not have time for this Rhyan." He grumbled as he pulled her to himself and pulled the top of her uniform up around her waist, stopping it a few inches below the strap of her sports bra, kneeling to see the tanned skin. He placed his fingers gently on her side, pretending not to notice her blush, or goose pimples. The rest of the team was muttering nervously, quite oblivious to the internal battle of their two players. "Your rib is definitely bruised. It could be cracked but I can't tell, he said standing up, his hand still on her ribcage."

"Harry, he is touching her far longer than entirely necessary." Ginny hissed making both Harry and Bill laugh.

"I don't think he can figure out how to let go." Bill chuckled.

"I doubt he even realizes it. He seems stunned. How stunned will he be when he discovers not only his parents but hers are here watching as well?" Harry said motioning towards Gwenog and her husband. She was shaking her head and laughing and he appeared to be scowling.

Ginny smiled and leaned forward, tapping her old captain on the shoulder. "Your daughter appears to be mesmerizing my son." She said.

"Yes well your son appears to be glued to my daughter." Gwen laughed.

"I don't know who to throw something at, your son whose hands are actually on her or the announcer that pretty much declared he wanted her to ride him…" Stan Jones said miserably.

Harry laughed. "Definitely the announcer, at least Teddy is checking her health. And you know, as his father I am a bit attached to the boy touching her."

"This is true. Bloody sixteen year old boys. Just wait, you just wait until that little red head is fifteen, you won't be laughing then." He muttered.

"She will be the death of me." Harry muttered, leaning back in his seat as Madam Hooch gave the 30 second signal.

"I am finishing the game. We are up and I am going to catch that damn snitch or die trying." She said, pulling her shirt from Teddy's grip and wincing slightly.

"I knew we were meant to be." Teddy joked with a grin.

They heard the whistle and shot back into the air. Rhyan only a slightly slower than she had before, Teddy watched her closely, as Sebastian quickly intercepted a pass from the Ravenclaw chasers.

"And the score is Gryffindor in the lead 20 to 10 after our first timeout. The Gryffindor chasers are putting out moves that I haven't seen anywhere. I am pretty sure they invented an entirely new playbook for this game. Exactly what I am talking about right here people, look at Lupin and Wood."

Teddy and Ollie were infact using a move they had come up with together, with the help of Harry, Ginny and Oliver that is. They were flying at the same speed parallel to each other, when suddenly they began to spiral around one another, throwing the quaffle back and forth until Ollie shot, sending McLaggen careening to the left when out of nowhere Teddy flipped head over heels and threw the actual quaffle through the right hoop. The red and gold clad fans jumped and roared their approval. Even a few Ravenclaw's cheered, it was hard not to appreciate a move like that.

"And there you have goal number three for Gryffindor!"

Harry laughed as Teddy flipped again, smiling widely. He was in his element on the quidditch pitch. Something that must have been learned from himself, because, Remus, nor Tonks played the game. The game got rather heated from that point on and for the next hour Harry had gritted his teeth to the point of giving himself a headache.

"That cannot be good, that was the fourth trip to the ground via double bludger hits on the Ravenclaw captain and he looks more than a bit shaken after that double team. The strategic move by Tarryn and Adam went completely unchecked by the only remaining beater on Ravenclaw's side, the reserve third year Spencer McCormack. He may be a strong player for his 13 years but he is no answer to the more experienced outmanning that Gryffindor is pulling off. And with that goal by Teddy Potter we bring the score to 290 Gryffindor leading Ravenclaw at 140."

"Did you see that! There goes Jones, man that girl is fast, look at her fly!"

Teddy happened to be circling about ten feet from Rhyan when she shot off like a wizzbang. He saw her streaking after a swift golden fleck. She was only trailing it by a few feet, the Ravenclaw seeker hot on her broom tail. Suddenly she pulled off a very Teddyesque flip and he watched her pull the little golden ball into her body. He started to cheer when the look on her face stopped him, she had gone completely ashen, her face a look of shock, as if the air had been knocked from her and she slumped to her broom as Connors started shouting.

"And Gryffindor wins the cup! 440 to 140 the only undefeated Hogwarts team this season and what a season it was for his first year of captaincy for Teddy! And…what is he doing?"

It had taken everyone a moment to realize that something wasn't perfect on the pitch. Teddy was flying shakily, Rhyan Jones practically on her stomach in his lap, barely even on her own broomstick. He was gripping her around the waist, not holding on to his own broom at all and coming in far too fast. They both hit the ground with a thud that resounded throughout the stadium. Harry stood to see over the side of the wall, Teddy was flat on his back with Rhyan sprawled across his chest. Both of them were still.


	6. Chapter 6: Private Parties

**_Sorry for the cliffhanger _**

**_Thank you for the reviews and for reading_**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Six

**Private Parties**

He opened his eyes and felt the world spin. He thought he might be sick if he sat up. He blinked several times, trying to register where he was at and what was going on.

"Hey Teddy Bear, you are awake." Ginny said softly, he felt her kiss his head.

"Hey mum." He mumbled. It felt like he had cotton in his mouth.

"Here." She said, slipping a straw into his mouth, he sipped and flinched, leave it to his mum to trick him into taking a potion, he hated potions. He pulled away and glared at her grinning face, even as his head cleared. "You only needed a bit. Honestly, you are worse than Jamie. Come on sit up." She said, helping him to sit.

He adjusted in his bed and looked around, seeing his father talking to a Rhyan's father and mother around what he assumed was her bed.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

His voice must have carried because Harry turned and smiled brilliantly at his finally awake son. He walked over and brushed the slowly changing hair from his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

" 'M fine. How is Rhyan?"

Harry laughed at his persistence and stepped aside so he could see the bed a few cots down.

"I woke up before you, does that make me tougher than you?" she asked with a joking grin.

"No, it makes me the cushion that you landed on." He grumbled. "What happened?" he asked, looking at his mother.

It was the Nurse maid Madam Bones that replied. "It appears that when Miss Rhyan flipped, the force of it broke her already cracked rib. The pain caused her to pass out. You seem to have caught her, luckily, I might add. I hate to think what would have happened if you hadn't have slowed her progress to the ground. However she hit you with such force coming off of a high speed move that you both still fell rather swiftly, leaving you with a nasty bump, a concussion, torn shoulder, a fractured ankle and a rather severely sprained wrist. Not to mention that rough landing knocked the wind out of you both."

"But…she's alright?" He watched Rhyan roll her eyes at his worry.

"She is." The nurse chuckled. "The landing gave her a bit of a jolt, the ribs are healed. Because she was already unconscious she didn't try to brace herself like you did, which is why you have the fractured ankle and the torn shoulder…and the sprain. You are all healed but, that shoulder is going to hurt for a week or so, and your ankle needs light, did you hear me Mr. Potter Lupin? I said light activity. I know your type."

Harry laughed. "Thank you Susan." He said with a smile

"Who is Susan?" Rhyan asked, looking at Harry.

"I am Susan. I happened to go to school with Harry and Ginny in my time." She said with a smile. "That is how I know Teddy here is likely to sneak out of my wing. I best not catch it." She said sternly.

"Don't worry, you won't." he muttered, causing everyone to laugh as Susan shook her head and went back into her office.

"I am going to leave you in the capable hands of Rhyan here." Harry said with a smile.

"How is it? That I save her, and yet I get more injuries?" Teddy asked, looking at his teammate and shaking his head.

"Believe me, it usually happens that way." Harry grunted, looking at Ginny who was laughing. "Victoire will be up in a bit, she wasn't allowed until you woke up, her dad is keeping her company…I believe he was trying to meet her boyfriend."

"Oh that is going to go over like a thousand pound owl." Teddy murmured as Harry and Ginny both nodded and Rhyan giggled. She knew enough about Gavin to know that most fathers wouldn't be pleased with their daughter dating him.

"You two played a good game. Congratulations." Stan said.

"Yes, if you weren't a boy I would seriously consider scouting you for the Harpies young man." Gwenog said with a smile. "Then again, you were trained by the best…You are a meatmorphagus if I remember from when you were young. Think you want to pretend to be a girl to play for me?"

"I think I'll stick to the teams that will let me play as I am, but thank you." He said with a grin.

"Oh well, you don't know if you don't ask." She shrugged as she kissed her daughter's head again.

"Bye you two." Harry said while Ginny kissed Teddy's cheek.

All of the parents bid the two kids their fairwells and left together.

Teddy turned in his bed and let his feet dangle off the end, looking at Rhyan.

"Thank you for catching me." She said with a hesitant smile.

"Well, I wasn't going to just let you fall." He shrugged.

"Gavin was going to. He was closer to me than you were."

"Well he is a Ravenclaw who could give two shits about the Gryffindor team. Not to mention he is a first rate prick. Dumb sod." Teddy said, a frown settling over his face.

Rhyan was looking at him curiously.

"What?" he said, a bit rudely.

"Did you just save me because I am your teammate?" she asked.

"Er…No?" he responded not sure where she was going with this line of questioning.

"Because I am a tiny little helpless girl?" she asked.

He actually burst into laughter, falling back against his pillows. "Merlin no, you are anything but helpless. I actually feared for my life a bit when I wrapped my arms around you." He joked.

"Oh yes, because I am the best dueler when I am unconscious after all. You are such a liar. You didn't even think twice about catching me, you just did it."

"I didn't think about it. I just, I couldn't let you fall. When I saw your face all white and then you kind of went limp and fell face forward…I couldn't breathe. I don't remember breathing the whole way down. I remember falling and trying to control both brooms, which is impossible by the way. The only thing I could think about was not letting you hit the ground. You just…You looked so scary, I really think you are what knocked the wind out of me, not the landing."

She blushed at the way that his words had sounded. When he heard them out loud his face turned red all the way to the tips of his hair. Literally, it had turned from pale purple to red.

"Well, no matter the reason. Thank you."

"Anytime." He said, putting his hands behind his head and sighing.

"So how does it feel to be captain of the cup winning team?" she asked, lying down gently so as not to bump her ribs, she may be healed but she was sore.

"I will tell you, if I ever get to go to the party that I am certain is going on right now." He said huffily.

"Madam Bones!" Rhyan called.

The young nurse bustled in. "What is it Miss Jones?"

"Well I was thinking…You know we are both healed, and I know I am hungry after that match and Teddy here, well he eats more food than all of Hufflepuff combined." he rolled his eyes at her exaggeration. "And we did just become Cup champions for the first time ever, and he is captain. Do you think we could maybe move me over there next to him? And we could get some food and have a small celebration? If we promise to stay in our beds that is." She asked, her eyes blinking softly and lip pouted a bit.

Susan laughed in response. "Sometimes you girls are too much. Walk your bum over there and I will get the food, but if I find either one of you out of bed for more than a bathroom visit in the next 24 hours, so help me Merlin you will be stuck to that bed with a portable chamber pot under you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Quite." Teddy said, nodding his head as Rhyan slowly walked over to the crisply made bed on his left side and Susan left the wing.

"You are brilliant!" he said with a huge grin.

"I try my best." She said with a grin.

He sat back up and stood, testing his ankle gently, wincing with the pain that shot up his leg but he made his way over to her bed and leaned against it, using the unhurt leg to hold his weight.

"You are going to get us in trouble." Rhyan said, slightly breathless.

Teddy shrugged. "How old are you?" he asked, meeting her eyes, he didn't know if they were amber, or gold or just a really light brown…But they had him stuck in place as surly as he would be stuck to his bed if Madam Bones came in.

"Why do you ask?" she hedged."

He brought his hand up and pushed a strand of hair from her eyes, "I don't want to be a hypocrite." He answered honestly.

Her head cocked sideways in question but she answered anyways. "Fifteen. My birthday falls at the end of September."

"Brilliant." He said as he pressed his lips gently to hers. His chest clenched happily

"Soooo, were you two throwing your own celebration then?" Came Ollie's voice from the other side of the ward. Teddy pulled away and looked over her shoulder at the rest of their team and Victoire, who looked odd…He couldn't really explain it.

"You could call it that." Teddy replied in an offhand voice as he backed up to his bed and hopped into place, his head swimming slightly. He glanced at Rhyan's pink tinged face and smiled slightly. "I take it you are all here to join us?"

"Well yes…But you two seem alright on your own, we will just return to the common room." Tarryn said swiftly, grabbing Ollie by the robes to pull him out before he started asking questions. "Only, Adam and I wanted to point out that we don't have to try out next year…He hit the pitch four times. Incredibly hard I might add…"

"WHAT!" Victoire practically yelled. Teddy's hands flew to his ears and he tensed, Sebatian clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shhhh! You are in a hospital wing and he has a concussion." Tarryn chided. "Oh and speaking of which, I would like to state that the bludgers, nor myself had anything to do with it…So you can't blame me for you being in here." He added as they all filed out of the room. Victoire was the only one to look back.

Seconds after they left madam Bones was back with her arms full of food and pumpkin juice. She conjured a bedside tray between their beds and sat it all down. "Alright, here you are. Now, take it easy and I will let you out in the morning. Deal?"

Both of them nodded their heads, looking back at each other when she turned her back and went into her office. They stared into one another's eyes for a long time, neither one sure of what to say.

"That was…Unexpected." She said.

"The visitors or the kiss?" he asked, a cockeyed smirk on his face.

"Both." She admitted. "But I was talking about the kiss."

"You think so? Because, I expected that to happen sooner or later."

"Teddy, you normally stay as far away from me as possible, excluding quidditch. At least you have for most of this year." She said bluntly.

"Ah…well that is because I dated Corrinne and all." He said shrugging.

"Ah yes. That is still messy huh?" she said, blushing a bit, everyone in their dorm had heard far too much about Teddy and Corrinne's relationship.

"Exactly. I stayed back because I didn't want to make it messier, and because of Vic. I know you two aren't the greatest of friends or anything but you room together and I didn't want it to be awkward for either of you. I didn't ignore you because I didn't like you, I did it because I very much did." He said softly.

"Victoire and I aren't exactly enemies you know… We just hang out with different people." she said warily.

"I know, I just, you know, I don't know so how can you know?"

"That made absolutely no sense." She laughed as she took a drink of pumpkin juice.

"Yes, I realize that now." He said with a grin. He shoved his hand through his hair, it was wavering between hot pink and neon blue, "Look, I like you, like really and truly like you." She blushed and nodded her head. He thought briefly of a conversation he had with Victoire, "Oh and I did not have sex with Corrinne." He stated.

"What!" she said, spitting a bit of juice out.

"I just wanted to get that out there, spread the rumor if you will. I didn't sleep with her. Ever. I swear."

She nodded her head and smiled slightly. "That is why Victoire won't speak to her?"

Teddy chuckled. "I would assume so, she only just told me she thought I had." He shrugged as he grabbed a pasty and stuffed it into his mouth.

Rhyan shook her head in exasperation of her roommate. "So, do we, I don't know, keep this secret?" she asked hesitantly.

He laughed, "Good luck with that, the whole quidditch team saw our first kiss."

"Our first kiss? Meaning there will be others."

"Honey, as soon as I can get out of this bed without being threatened with a chamber pot, you can bet on your life there will be more.


	7. Chapter 7: Words From The Wise

**_Thank you for reading and reviewing_**

Chapter Seven

**Words From the Wise**

"So explain to me why you can kiss her goodbye in front of me but I can't kiss Gavin in front of you." Victoire said, irritation outright as she maneuvered behind him.

Teddy grabbed the handle of Roxxy's trunk and sat it on top of his own, pulling them both behind him while he let Roxxy go ahead.

"Because I am not ripping her clothes off of her every time we kiss. Well I have never actually touched her clothes when we kissed yet…but that isn't the point." He said as he followed his little cousin from the train.

"He does not rip my clothes off every time we kiss." She scoffed.

"Does too." Came Dom's voice from behind her, to which Victoire shoved her into the wall. "I wasn't asking you." She growled at her little sister.

"Whatever." Dom said, flipping her short strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder.

Teddy smiled at her, he had quite grown to like Dominique over the last couple of years. She was far less prissy than Vic was and as snappy as Victoire could be, Dom was right on her level, and did not hesitate to tell someone what she thought. Uncle Bill had said it was a side effect of mixing the Weasley hotheadedness with veela blood. He thought that in either incarnation, Victoire or Dominique, the blend was awesome. Though right now he wanted nothing more than to shake some sense into his best friend. He glanced back with a cheeky grin at Victoire.

"I thought this topic was off limits?" he said as he struggled to remove the chests from the train until Lysander showed up to help him.

"It is." She grumbled in response.

They made their way over to their parents, where James, Albus and Lily were all practically bouncing with excitement. Well, Lily was actually bouncing and took no time in throwing herself into Teddy's waist, he sat the trunks down and lifted her into his arms and spun in a circle.

"Hey Princess Potter, and how is my favorite girl today?" he said, kissing her cheek.

"I'm good. I am so happy you are home!" she hugged his neck tightly.

"You know Lils, you aren't the only one that missed him." Al said, arms crossed at his chest.

"Why don't we let Teddy get home before you all maul him?" Harry said with a grin.

"That would be great." Teddy said before sitting Lily down.

He glanced over to where James was hugging Victoire and telling her about his junior quidditch league.

"Oi! Jamie!" he called. James waived to his oldest cousin and ran to Teddy's side. "Bye Vic!" he called with a wave.

"See you in a few days!" she yelled as she hugged her mum.

Teddy followed Ginny from the station as Harry slowed to walk beside him. "You two seem alright again." He said lightly.

"Yeah, we just try not to mention the boyfriend, girlfriend, subject." Teddy said with a shrug. "Though more the boyfriend subject, she doesn't hate my girlfriend like I do Gavin. She was pretty mad about the bet to get him knocked from his broom in that last match though." He shook his head, remembering the aftermath.

"Your girlfriend huh? Anyone I would know?" Harry asked, he could tell from Ginny's posture that she was listening in.

"Yeah, Rhyan, you know the one that caught the snitch."

"WHAT!" Harry practically yelled.

"The real snitch dad. You know in the match." He said with a smirk.

"Oh…Ohhh right. Rhyan, Gwen's daughter." He said, smirking at Ginny's stiff back.

"That would be the one." Teddy replied as they loaded into Harry's black SUV that they used for muggle London, and drove home.

0o0o0o0o

They were a week into break when Victoire flooed into the manor.

"Hey Vic!" cried James, Fred, Albus and Parker. It was a rainy day and they were playing with James' miniature quidditch figurines.

"Where is Teddy?" she asked, he was usually playing around with the boys during the summer.

"No idea, that girl is here, and they didn't want to play." Al said, looking put out.

"That girl?" she asked, glancing at the stairs and then back to her younger cousins.

"Yeah the pretty one with dark hair. When I asked if she was Teddy's girlfriend he got all pissy and knocked me upside the head." James said with a frown.

"James Sirius watch that mouth or I am going to knock you upside your head!" Ginny said as she entered the room from the back hall.

"Hi Victoire, are you here to see Teddy?" she asked, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Uhm, well, I, what is Lily doing?" she asked, masking her disappointment.

"Hmmm she is around here sulking, Teddy wouldn't let her stay in the sitting room with him so she is puttering about in the garden I think."

"Why wouldn't he let her in there?' Victoire asked, it was unlike Teddy to shoo Lily away, the boys yes, Lily, no.

"Would you want your little sister hanging around if you brought your boyfriend home?" Ginny asked.

"Well no, but Teddy doesn't snog with her like I do with Gavin." She said, her mouth running away with her.

"Is that so?" Ginny said with a frown. "I don't know whether or not I should be thankful for that or not. Why don't you come sit and have tea with your Aunt? It has been a long time since we had a girl afternoon just the two of us. You know, first born Weasley daughter with first born Weasley granddaughter?" she said.

Victoire smiled and nodded. "Can it be far away from Ted and his girlfriend?" she said with a bitter tone.

"I think we can manage that." Ginny said, looking puzzled.

"Alright then. But if Lils comes along she can join us. I don't want her to feel excluded."

Ginny smiled and pulled her long deeply red hair from her face. "Good, I don't know how much more she can take, I tried to play with her but she wasn't having it. I even offered to bring Rose and Hugo by, it was a no go."

"Well, Teddy never ignores her, ever, it is hard for her. I can understand that." She said softly as they entered the Veranda and Ginny summoned a tea set up from the kitchen.

"You can, can you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he is different with this girl than others. With the other ones he only wanted them for…well….uhm….well he didn't spend so much time with them. He didn't seem to care about them honestly."

Ginny was trying her best not to look disapproving, trying to be the confidant aunt rather than the mother of the boy she was talking about.

"But you have a boyfriend Vic, Gavin, right?"

"Yeah." Victoire sighed.

"You don't sound overly thrilled about him." Ginny surmised, watching her niece twirl a piece of her silvery blonde hair, the only one of Bill's kids to get the purely blonde locks.

"I am, really I am. It is just, he never wants to do anything but snog. And are you sure you aren't going to go tell my dad or uncle Harry? Or Teddy?" she added as an afterthought.

Ginny thought for a moment. Could she really promise her niece that? "Unless he is hurting you, I will not say a word."

Victoire nodded and lay her head on her arms. "He wants to have sex. I don't think I want to. I mean I do want to, like it feels like I want to, but I am scared. And Teddy would be so mad." She whispered.

"Well. If you are scared, then you aren't ready. When you are ready there will be no fear. Nerves, hell yeah, but fear? None at all. And, as much as I, as your loving and devoted Aunt and Godmother, want you to wait, you should not pin your decision on what Teddy is going to think about it. Or anyone else for that matter."

Victoire looked at her, stunned.

"Look Vic, and for just a second let's pretend I am not your aunt, alright?"

"Alright." Victoire said, slowly.

"I waited until marriage. And I do not regret it. But at the time, I only did it because that is what your uncle wanted. And he only wanted it because he didn't want to disappoint anyone. He wanted to leave no room for someone to be angry with him. Like I said, neither of us regret the decision, but sometime I think, at that time, we were both ready. Please don't tell your father I said that though."

Victoire nodded her head, deep in thought.

"Why are you scared? Not that I want you to do it, I just want to know."

"I am scared that it is going to hurt." She said quietly.

"It will, a bit, but only at first."

"I am scared for someone to see me completely naked." She admitted.

"Understandable, and commendable, but I was under the impression you had been fairly open with him already?"

"Well, only to a point, my knickers have stayed on though, well mostly." She said with a blush.

Ginny nodded slightly.

"Well, once you are ready, you won't even think about it much ahead of time. You won't even really notice it much. But I can promise you Vic, you are a beautiful little girl, you have nothing to worry about or be ashamed of."

"I am not a little girl Aunt Ginny."

Ginny sighed, "No I suppose you aren't, are you?"

"Nope." She replied, she seemed to waver for a moment on what she wanted to say. "I am afraid if I say yes he will tell everyone or break up with me, or even both." She practically whispered.

"First, while I can understand not wanting everyone and their brother to know, would you be ashamed if you did sleep with him?"

"I-I think so. It feels like I would be."

"Then he isn't the one. Nor is he the one if you even worry that he would tell someone. And especially not if you are afraid he would leave once you do take that step. It isn't a natural progression of a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship Vic. It is a natural progression of being in love with someone sweety. Do you love him?"

"I thought I did." She muttered.

"But you don't anymore?"

"I-I don't know, I didn't know I could like someone else…It never even really occurred to me until recently and it, it should feel wrong, really wrong that I like this other person, even if I didn't have a boyfriend it should feel wrong…I just can't make it feel wrong." She said, panic in her eyes.

"This other guy, he isn't a Slytherin or something is he?"

Victoire gave a watery laugh, pushing her tears off her cheeks. "Definitely not."

"Well…you do understand that if you have feelings for someone else you should tell him, and not lead Gavin on."

"But I can't be with the person that I might like, besides I don't even know that I like him. I might just be being a spoilt brat. I do like Gavin, if I didn't I wouldn't be afraid he was going to break up with me for not sleeping with him."

"Wait-Wait. You are afraid he is going to break up with you for NOT sleeping with him?"

"Well…Kind of. He sort of asked if he was just wasting his time a few times." She muttered, squirming in her seat, she looked down at her hands when Ginny's face went red.

"Victoire, that-that-that is reprehensible."

"I don't think he meant it though. It was my fault, I kind of let him go farther than I had before, I wasn't even really comfortable with that but…"

"You didn't want him to break up with you." Ginny finished.

"Right."

Sensing Victoire's defense on the subject she switched. "Why can't you be with this other boy? If you decided you like him that is."

"His family would not approve. And he would fall over off his broomstick if I told him that, he would think I had gone mad!" She spluttered, getting nervous with even the idea of it.

"So he is a flyer huh? Would Teddy know who this mystery guy is?"

Victoire nearly fell off her seat. "NO! And don't ask him! I haven't told anyone, I wouldn't want to hurt Gavin like that. And Teddy has enough against Gavin, I wouldn't want to give him more ammunition. Be glad that he didn't kill him when Gavin insulted Remus and Uncle Harry. I thought Teddy was going to blow up."

"He insulted Teddy's father? Both of them?" Ginny said, her mouth in a straight line.

"I yelled at him for it, we talked. He apologized to Teddy, he told me he did. He was just mad because Teddy was in our business, and stopped a good snogging session."

"He gets upset about snogging and sex a good bit it seems." Ginny said wryly.

"You have no idea." Victoire mumbled.

"Vicky! Vicky!" came Lily's voice, running into the bright room.

"Hey little girl. What are you into today?" she smiled at her youngest cousin.

"Nothing. I was going to play pretty witch with Teddy but he has this cow in his room." She scathed.

"LILY LUNA POTTER!" Ginny said, horrified, Victoire laughed hysterically.

"I will play pretty witch with you. I am actually a witch after all."

Lily's face brightened as she took Vic's hand and pulled her from the Veranda, Ginny stopped them before they could get too far.

"Lily, did you say he has her in his room?" Ginny said quickly, her eyes wide.

"Mmmhhhmmm. That is where they were a few minutes ago." Lily sang as she drug Vic towards the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8: Breathless Babysitting

**_Aaaaaakkkk_**

**_I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry….._**

Chapter Eight

**Breathless Babysitting **

"We will be back in the morning by 7:00. The kids are to be in bed no later than 10:00. No company, you were supposed to be grounded for three weeks, we let it slide, you messed up. Now you babysit.

"I know." Teddy said, a sour look on his face.

He was supposed to be ungrounded two days ago originally, however, he was showing Rhyan his room, one thing led to another and his mum caught them snogging on his bed, the first time he had put his hand up her shirt too, he should add.

"Don't make that face at me. This is your fault." Ginny said sternly.

His father said nothing, he had already warned him not to let his mother know when he messed around with a girl, and he knew that doing so in his bedroom in the manor was stupid. Things just got away from him. But he could honestly say, he did not regret it one minute. Well maybe the minute when he had gotten yelled at after Rhyan left and Victoire was standing there. He had not wanted that at all. He didn't want her to know he had been snogging Rhyan. He didn't know why exactly, but he didn't want her to know.

"No sweets after 7:00/" Harry said.

"I know the house rules." He said, rolling his eyes.

"I am not so sure you do…We might need to call you a babysitter." Ginny said, her eyes narrowed.

Harry bit his lips behind her, to keep the chuckle in. If he wasn't careful they would miss the annual auror ball and he would get in a lot of trouble at work for it. King would flay him alive if he wriggled out of it this year. He had managed to miss the last four…He was under orders that he was not to miss it, under no uncertain terms.

"Who is on alert if I need something?" Teddy asked suddenly, realizing they hadn't given him that last bit of information that they usually told him. "Which was certainly important, as he had never been alone all night with them before.

"No one, you are sixteen, son. We are trusting that you know what to do. Though that may come as a shock." Harry said softly.

Teddy nodded and looked at his feet. It was so much worse when his father chastised him than his mother. Likely because he so rarely fussed at any of them. And it came as something of a shock to the system. Like that night when he had gotten home from work after Rhyan and Victoire were gone. He thought back as his parents kissed all four of them goodbye.

_"Why. After everything we have ever talked about, would you think it was alright to do that?" _

_"Well I wasn't exactly thinking." Teddy admitted, his face red. _

_"Your mother is furious. You may never see the light of day from the outside again." _

_"What about you."_

_"I- I am very disappointed in your choices." Harry said, his green eyes looking sad._

_"What?" he had gasped._

_"We talked about this. You know you can't have girls in your room, even Victoire. Well, now, especially Victoire, but that aside. Think about this. You got in a row with Vic because she was letting Gavin disrespect her in public, you yelled and yelled about that boy. Yet you were in your bedroom, in a house, with your mother and siblings and you nearly had the girl's shirt off. Who was that respectful towards? Rhyan? Because it didn't make her look too good. Your siblings? Who are far too young to realize that is what you do with a girl. Or your mum and I? I don't even think I need to explain that."_

And to Teddy's surprise, he walked out of the room, he said nothing else. He didn't mention it again. Not until this very moment.

"Will you be alright?" Ginny asked, her voice gentler than it had been in weeks.

"Yeah, we will be fine mum. Have a good time." He said, waiving them off as they flooed away.

"Alright I should have two short stuffs and a princess where are you three at?" he called, following their laughter into James' room where they were building a castle.

"I am in charge of dinner." He said as he sat down between Al and Lily.

"Oh no." Albus groaned.

"Are we being punished too?" James asked, wide eyed.

"Laugh it up funny boy. Honestly. I could let you starve you know." He said with a frown.

"Well I for one love your cooking." Al said with a smile.

"Yup, top notch cooking, better than Grandmum's." James said, pretending to lick his lips.

Lily remained silent, she hadn't spoken to him much since he unceremoniously kicked her from his room when Rhyan had come over. She had her mother's ability to hold a grudge, that was for sure.

"Well, you may love my cooking and all, but I was thinking we should call out for a muggle pizza. What do you think?"

"I love it when you babysit!" James said, high fiving Al.

"Best babysitter ever! Even though we aren't babies. Well Lily is, but we aren't." Eight year old Albus said.

"I am not a baby!" Lily said, stomping her foot.

"Yes because that was so mature." James teased.

"Alright, alright. Lils why don't you come with me, you can pick the toppings and I will let you do my nails."

"No." she said, turning her head.

"Come on, I will even make my hair long and curly so you can put bows in it." He temped.

"And you will leave it for the pizza guy?"

He sighed as the boys laughed. "I will leave it for the pizza guy."

"Make up too?"

"Whatever you want, just no more silent treatment." He said, lifting her into his arms and carrying her from the room as she detailed what she was going to do.

0o0o0o

The fire in the sitting room lit up and he looked at his watch, it was only 10:30 far too early for his parents to be home. They weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow morning. He glanced down at Lily, who was asleep with her head in his lap, and at Albus who was sleeping propped against his legs, they had fell asleep watching a movie on the muggle telly. James was still awake, but barely, sitting on the overstuffed chair with his old red dragon Gryf in his hands. Shit he was going to be in trouble, he hadn't realized it was after their bedtime.

As the fire died down he stammered "I'm sorry, we were watching a moving and I lost track of time."

It took a second for him to realize it was Victoire. Victoire in a very short and tight pair of pyjama shorts and a stringy tank top.

"Erm…I am not allowed to have company." He said awkwardly.

She looked at him and started giggling. "Did you know you have black curls with bows and blue eyeshaddow?"

He smiled grimly. "My nails match, toes and fingers."

"Peace offering with Lily?"

He nodded and smiled fondly down at his baby sister.

"Vic, I would love for you to stay, really, but I am not allowed to have anyone here." He said sadly.

"Actually, you are. My Aunt Gabrielle went into labor but is having a rough time. Mum had to leave right away and dad is leaving as soon as he gets their bags together. I came ahead to let you know that me, Dom, and Louis are staying. And apparently you are in charge." She said, making a face.

"Are you doubting my ability to be in charge?" he asked.

"No, I am doubting my ability to listen to you." She said with a grin.

The fire lit up again and Dom tumbled out, followed by Louis both of them in their bed clothes. Bill quickly followed.

He glanced around the room at his children, niece and nephews. Looking at Teddy last, he pointed to Louis and Dom. "They are to go to bed by eleven. Stay out of trouble." He said firmly.

"Yes, sir." Teddy said quickly, he was still rather nervous around Bill after the anniversary.

He glanced over at the Telly, "Raiders of the Lost Ark?"

Teddy nodded.

"Good choice." And he stepped back into the fire before disappearing.

He turned his eyes back to Victoire. "Let me get Vic in bed and I will get you all set up in the extra rooms." He said, putting one hand down by his legs and gently moving Al so that he was laying on the floor, then lifting Lily into his arms.

"Here, Teddy, just put her here with me, we can all sleep out here, it will be fun." James said groggily.

Teddy laughed quietly. "Yes Jamie, all of you are already nearly asleep, it will be oh so fun." He muttered, but lay Lily down in the place beside her brother anyways.

He smiled as James wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes as soon as he lay his head on top of hers. Sometimes, during moments like these, he was struck with how much he truly loved these three little kids.

"Alright then, I guess these three are staying here, what about you two?" he asked Dom and Louis.

"I will stay in here. Can we start the movie over?" he asked, throwing himself on the floor by James' chair.

"Sure thing kiddo." Teddy said, grabbing the remote control and pointing it at the Tell, restarting the picture.

"I don't feel real well, can I just go to a room?" Dom asked.

"What's wrong Dom?" he asked, as Victoire grabbed each of their bags. "Just throw his in Jamie's room and then you and Dom can take the room with the double beds if you want, that way you are in this hall." He said. She nodded in response.

"I just don't feel well, alright!" she snapped.

His eyes widened, she might be sassy usually but she was rarely outright rude. "Alright, well, if you need anything." He said reproachfully, she glared in response and then moped out of the room.

He conjured a few blankets and threw them over Al, who was still out cold on the floor, James and Lily in the chair and then Louis.

"You hungry kiddo?" he asked the strawberry blonde boy that was saying the words with the movie silently.

"No, I am alright." He said.

"Well I am going to go grab a pumpkin juice and I will be back, send your sister down if she is looking for me."

"Will do cuz."

He followed the stairs and went into the kitchen, He grabbed a cup from the cabinet and poured it full of iced pumpkin juice. He had just sat on the bar stool when Victoire came in.

"Do you have anything stronger in there? I think we are going to need it." She said solemnly.

"We have butterbeer. That is all we have that we can have."

"Well grab four of 'em and come upstairs." She said.

"Why don't we just stay here?" Teddy asked, he was quite comfy on his stool.

"The kids are all upstairs sleeping watching movies or bitching about life we have to be close enough to help should they need it, grab our stuff and let's go up before someone dies or something."

"Too right." He muttered, thinking about the chaos he had seen James cause when one thought he was sleeping.

It turned out the kids were actually asleep, and even Louis had drifted off while they were downstairs, he peeked in on Dom who was sleeping restlessly before he returned to Vic who was in the hallway.

"Is she alright? She seems, well not herself." He said, glancing back at the closed door.

"She will be fine, I assure you."

He nodded and headed down the hall, it wasn't until he was standing in his doorway and she was just outside that it hit him like a bolt of lightning and he stopped and turned, leaning against the doorframe.

"You can't come in here." He said, wrinkling his nose.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Why not?"

"Apparently, you are a girl, and I am not allowed to have girls in my room." He sighed.

"Since when am I a girl?" she asked, bemused that her aunt and uncle had picked up that they might should not be in a bedroom together.

"Well since I was about ten or eleven honestly. Remember when you weren't allowed to sleep in my room overnight anymore? But the no room as all rule didn't get put down for you until the beginning of the summer." He said.

"It didn't occur to them that we are cousins?" she asked, curiously.

He grinned slightly blushing. I think it actually occurred to them that, biologically speaking, we aren't cousins. They raised us as such, and I love them like they are, but mum and dad, Harry and Ginny that is, they aren't my biological parents. Meaning that you aren't actually my cousin."

"Well I know that." She said, sliding down the doorframe with her back against it.

Teddy followed suit on the opposite side, their knees touching in the middle.

"So I'm a girl huh?" she said, for some reason feeling nervous, why should she feel nervous with Teddy, it wasn't as if he had noticed, his parents had.

"Apparently so." He said with a grin, nudging her knees with his playfully. "If it makes you feel better, I was the one to point out you were a girl when I was ten." He said wryly.

"I am flattered that you noticed." She said.

"You should be, I think it took me another three years to find another one." He said with a grin.

"And look at you now." She said with a sigh. "Who would have guessed you had a hard time picking out girls."

"I know, it is unbelievable huh?" he joked.

"It is something. That is for sure." She said.

He let his head rest against the door frame and took a drink of his butterbeer.

"Are you going to sleep with him?" Teddy asked suddenly.

She spit out her drink a bit. "I'm sorry, what!?"

"McLaggen, are you going to sleep with him?"

"I thought this was off limits."

"If I promise not to fight or say anything out of the way."

"Why?"

"I am trying to figure out if I want to sleep with Rhyan." He shrugged.

"I don't think you should base it on whether or not I do it with Gavin." She spluttered.

"That isn't what I meant." He rolled his eyes. "If you sleep with him, why are you going to do it?"

"I don't know if I am going to have sex with him. He wants to, obviously. And I do feel a bit guilty about making him wait. It's not like he is a virgin, he stopped having sex to date me."

"Right." Teddy said nodding. "But I am…er…one…I don't know how to know if she wants to do that." He said, looking at his knees.

"Ted." She said it so softly that his eyes flew to hers instantly. His eyes were mesmerizing to look into, they never seemed to completely settle on a color so they always had this swirly hypnotic look to them, like a many colored ocean, moving just below the surface.

"Yeah." He said, biting his bottom lip.

"If she wants to, well, you will know."

She adjusted slightly, her foot was going numb. Noticing her wiggle, he grabbed her ankles and pulled her legs straight, pushing his out too, so their legs were entwined and each of them had a foot in the other's lap. He placed his hand on her ankle, tracing shapes on it with his fingertip nervously.

"How?"

"I don't know, I haven't done it either you know." She said, shaking her head.

"This is really, really confusing." He muttered.

"You're tellin me." She muttered

"Do you love him?"

She forced her eyes away from his, contenting herself with running the thin fabric of the mediwitch pants, that he always wore to bed, between her fingers.

"I don't know. I like him. But how am I supposed to know if I love him or not?"

Teddy shrugged, she felt him grip her ankle, his hand slightly shaking. "Well, do you like anyone else more than him? Like do you think about anyone else while you are with him? If you do? I don't think that is love."

"Have you, have you ever, thought about someone else when you are with Rhyan?" she asked nervously, they really shouldn't be talking about this.

He hesitated but nodded slightly, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"So you don't love her?"

"No, I mean we have only been dating a little over two months. And I think I already liked someone else when we did."

She thought he sounded like he was choking. "Since we are being honest and all, who?"

He looked at her and bit his lip harder, sh

e could see it turning white under the press of his teeth. She pulled her foot from his lap and climbed up onto her knees so she was kneeling between his legs and pulled his bottom lip free with her thumb.

"Stop, you are going to make yourself bleed." She whispered, she hadn't meant to whisper.

He reached up and pulled her hand from his mouth, looking astonished, sitting up straighter so they were inches away. It had been a really long time, years possibly, since they were this close to one another. He let his hand fall from her wrist where it landed on her thigh, half on the stretchy shorts and half on her skin. He glanced down as he felt the warmth under his hand and looked back up at her quickly, judging her thoughts quickly. Before he could talk himself out of it he lifted his other hand to the nape of her neck, pressing her long ponytail between his hand and her skin. He pulled her to his lips, where she all but melted into him.


	9. Chapter 9: Never A Truer Word

**_I'm SORRY!_**

**_Don't throw your laptop at me…_**

**_You won't be able to read the new chapter._**

**_At least I update as soon as a new one is written so you don't have to wait forever._**

**_I know, no excuses.._**

**_I'm sorry, that was a terrible terrible cliffhanger.._**

**_Oh and if there were any errors I am sorry…_**

**_I was so excited about that last chapter that I instantly posted it.._**

**_It wasn't edited AT ALL…Sorry I got excited._**

Chapter Nine

**Never A Truer Word**

His world shook. Everything he thought he knew about life, her, himself, fell into heaps of nothing around him. He knew nothing, nothing. And when the shock wore off and her lips began to move beneath his he felt like he was being electrified. Like, lightning had shot down from the clear summer night sky, blasted through the roof and hit him square in the chest.

He released her neck and she pulled back for a second, looking bashful and stunned all at once. He shakily put his hands on her waist and gripped her thin sides, scrunching the fabric of her shirt under them.

"Please don't stop." He barely said, there was far too much breath in his throat.

She smiled hesitantly and scooted closer, positioning her legs on either side of his thighs and pressed her lips against his, he pulled her all the way against him, their kiss getting harder and less tentative. Seriously, his world had stopped spinning. The only thing in it in that minute was her. It never even occurred to him that he was in fact snogging her in a hallway. Somewhere in his consciousness it registered that she was no longer on her knees but completely in his lap, with her legs wrapped around his waist. Stretchy shorts and medi pants left very little protective barriers, he had to remember to thank Ryleigh for stocking him up at the beginning of summer. She kissed him more firmly and he attempted to pull her closer, which was not entirely possible. He groaned slightly under her lips as a very intense need built low in his belly. He wasn't entirely certain he had felt something like this before, and he had been much farther than they were now. His movement elicited a whimper from her that about drove him mad. He pulled back and looked at her, her normally fair cheeks were flushed with color, the whispy fronts of her hair had fallen from the high ponytail and her lips were a dark red, slightly swollen from their intense kiss. He fingered a strand of hair at the nape of her neck before peck kissing her once more.

"We have to stop." He said breathlessly.

"Because we each have a boyfriend or girlfriend?" she asked, disappointment showing in her eyes.

He kissed her again and pulled back, licking his lips, he could taste her kiss still, it lingered of butterbeer and white chocolate. "No, because if we don't I am going to throw you on my bed and never let you leave, and then I will never get ungrounded." He said honestly.

She giggled at the look on his face before kissing him again. This one lasted longer before she released him. He was lightheaded from lack of air when their lips parted, he whined at the space between them.

"How long do you think I would be grounded for?" she asked playfully.

He smiled and ran his fingers from the seam of her shorts to her knees and back, how could her skin be that soft? She shivered at his touch, making a whole new set of wants make themselves known to them both. "Are you trying to kill me? Because if you are, I don't think I care anymore." He said in a deeper than was entirely normal voice. He crashed his lips back into hers, placing a hand behind her head and back and laying her on the floor so he was pressed against her from hip to chest. Another 20 minutes of intense kisses later and Teddy pulled away. Blinking rapidly and shaking his head.

"Really, we have to stop." Victoire echoed his earlier statement.

"We do, we really. Really. Do." He said, scrambling up to his knees and helping her do the same.

They were both panting for breath and said nothing as they stood and she fixed her pony tail. He gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it down back to below her belly button where if belonged. She grinned in response, it took him a good minute to remove his hand from her waist, before he did he pulled her by her hips back into another mind numbing kiss she stepped back, looking dazed.

"I have really got to get a grip on myself." He muttered, shaking his head, searching for even the smallest amount of self control.

"We need to go to bed." She said suddenly.

"WHAT!" he nearly yelled, until she clapped her hand over his mouth, his eyes were practically bugging out, she was laughing.

"Not like that. It is nearing 3 AM, we need to go to bed…er…to sleep. But I am not sleeping in the same room as Dom, she is a little nightmare right now."

Teddy looked at her appraisingly, "Well, my room is definitely out." He said, a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"You have never spoke a truer word." She said with a smile.

"What if, we pick a new movie and camp in the sitting room with the littles? There is an open sofa." He said.

"Do I get to pick the movie?"

"You can so anything you want to." He said fervently, she laughed and followed him to the sitting room.

"When did your hair go back to normal? And your make up disappear?" she asked, noticing the extremely bright blue hues of his hair, though it did have white blonde tips and his piercing green eyes, with no blue above them.

"I washed the makeup off and took out the bows in the kitchen." He said with a shrug, he angled his eyes upward trying to see the short spikes of hair. "What color is my hair?" he asked curiously.

"Blue and blonde." She said with a grin.

"Were you not even looking at who you were kissing?" he hissed as he sat back into his place on the sofa, throwing one leg along the back as she threw a pillow into his lap and lay down, with her head in it..

"Meh, it was unimportant." She joked, he scowled at her before kissing her temple.

She yawned sleepily, "you think we'll get in trouble for this?" she asked.

"I'll just say you were upset about not going to see Gabrielle." He shrugged.

"You are very stealthy Mr Potter."

"I do try." He said with a smile. "Really Vic, we have watched this thousands of times," he protested as the screen lit up.

"But I love it." She said with a grin.

"Well only will I allow it tonight, seeing as I took advantage of you and all." He said with a wink, she surreptuously leaned up and kissed him.

"Anytime. What are best mates for?"

He laughed, "Not that."

She giggled as he placed his arm gingerly over her waist and settled in to watch The Notebook again.

0o0o0o0o

"Remind me why we left the hotel so early?" Harry whined as they flooed into the downstairs great room, attempting to not wake the kids with the floo alarm.

"Because while Teddy is a good babysitter, you can't order in breakfast." Ginny said with a grin.

"We have a house elf." Harry reminded her.

"Well, I just don't think he should have to watch them all afternoon." She said, shaking her head as they walked up the stairs.

"He is being punished." Harry said with a shrug.

"Who are you kidding? He doesn't mind watching them one bit, that was a terrible punishment. Add in the unexpected surprise of Victoire, Dom and Louis and we will be lucky if the upstairs is still fully standing." She laughed. She peeked her head into James' room. "Er…our son is missing. Though Louis' bag is in here."

Harry noticed Teddy's door still open and looked inside the empty room. "They can't be up already, it isn't even 7:00." He said as Ginny looked into Al's room and shook her head, telling him it was empty as well.

He gave Lily's room a cursory look, though he didn't expect her to be there. And walked towards the sitting room, as they walked closer they could hear the Telly going. Harry grinned as he recognized the constant repeat of the menu screen on Victoire's favorite movie.

Both he and Ginny walked in the room and looked at the kids around them. Albus was sprawled across the floor, his stuffed snitch gripped in his hand by the wing. He had thrown his blanket off at some point and had it stuffed under his head. Louis was a few feet away, one leg thrown up on the arm of the chair, a blanket covering his stomach and everything else uncovered. James and Lily were both asleep in the huge recliner. Lily was holding onto Louis' foot as if it were a plush bear, her head on James' chest. James had his arm under Lily and his other thrown over his face, as if he was faint, or the nonexistent light was blinding him. Lily had wrapped herself in all of the blanket, leaving her brother uncovered. His faithful dragon was laying on the floor in front of them.

Their eyes found the sofa last, upon which Teddy and Victoire were both asleep. He was sitting, with his head thrown back against the sofa a pillow in his lap. Victoire was curled with her legs wrapped around his that was along the back of the sofa, her arms entwined around his waist, one of his hands lay on her head and the other had slipped to his own leg. Ginny looked at Harry with a concerned expression.

"Maybe she was upset about Gabrielle?" he suggested weakly.

Ginny sighed and walked out of the room, their pose reminding her vividly of her and Harry's own babysitting experience. He flicked his wand at the telly, turning it off. And followed Ginny to their room. They had yet to go to sleep, after the dinner and dance, they had spent the night enjoying each other in their hotel suite and before they knew it, it had been time to come home.

"You know, I was talking to Vic a few weeks ago. She mentioned Having a bit of a crush on a boy other than her boyfriend." Ginny said softly.

Harry looked up at her, "She did, did she?"

"Mhhhmmmm, now mind you, I swore not to tell you, but…She said that his family wouldn't approve. And that he wouldn't feel the same way. You don't think?"

He stood and helped her unzip the back of her dress, kissing the skin there lightly. "I do think. In fact, your son, is rather taken with her too. We talked about it, mind you not in detail, but he mentioned something about it in May."

"And you never told me?" she said sharply, turning to face him.

"Gin, I didn't even know if he was serious, he didn't even know how he felt, just that it was different."

"You don't think that they…last night you know?"

He shook his head. "No, I think that our displeasure with his exploits a few weeks ago would have stopped him. And I don't think either one of them is ready for that. I would bet they only just realized that they felt the same way. I would also bet that they are confused as hell about it."

"Who wouldn't be, I am confused. You know this complicates things…They are best mates, we can't exactly keep them apart. Not to mention they are practically family, they are together all the time."

"I don't think we should keep them apart. I think that we should give them the benefit of the doubt. They have been alone together for years, and Teddy has been interested in girls for at least three of them. If they were going to out and out do something, it would be far too late to stop it now. I trust both of them more than that. Besides, I hardly think they would have returned to the company of their siblings if they had had sex for the first time." He watched her pull on one of his shirts.

"You make a fair point." She said grudgingly. "You need to talk to Bill. This is not something any of us forsaw." She said as she slid into bed.

He climbed in beside her. "They will be fine. You know, you have to let them grow up sometime, and you were in fourth year when you dated Michael."

"That, is what scares me." She said.

"Yeah, well I didn't meet my downfall until you caught me. I was sixteen." He protested.

"Yes, but Victoire is very very much my niece." She mumbled. "And Teddy is very much not only your godson but your son. He acts like you." She said. "He is a goner."

Harry laughed outright. "He is a bit more capable than I ever was. He has more confidence, I assure you of that. He can hold his own."

They heard shuffling and muttering from the hall.

"So much for getting any extra sleep." Ginny sighed, climbing out of bed.

Harry stretched and sat back up.

"Damn kids." He muttered scowling at the door that was opening slowly, Ginny chuckled as a dark head pushed its way through the opening.

"Hey Mum!" came Albus' sleepy voice.

"Hey baby boy. Are you hungry?"

"Mhhhmmm. Lils woke us up. She is demanding eggs. We all know that Teddy is not the greatest of cooks." He said shaking his hair out.

"Let me get dressed and I will be down." Ginny said as Harry walked towards the door and put his hand on his youngest son's head.

"Come on little one, let's go get the others up while we wait for mum." He said, nudging him from the room.

He walked with Al into the sitting room. Louis was sitting up on the floor, rubbing his eyes tiredly. James was sitting, crosslegged in the chair, he appeared to have fallen back to sleep sitting straight up, Lily was no where to be found. He turned to Teddy and Victoire who were both awake, sitting on the sofa leaning against one another. Their eyes were drooping.

"Late night?" Harry asked the pair.

Victoire flushed slightly, making Harry wonder what had actually happened that night.

"No, they were all asleep by their assigned times. Well except for Jamie, I lost track of time while watching Indiana Jones. But he was asleep before 11:00. It was his idea to camp out in here." Teddy said. "I didn't mean to let him stay up, sorry. He was really into the movie, it wasn't his fault, I should have paid closer attention." It was obvious that he was hoping he wasn't going to get in trouble, though he would gladly take the punishment if it kept James out of trouble.

"You want a secret? I never expected Jamie to be in bed on time. He rarely is." Harry said with a wink. As he glanced over at James who had fallen sideways in the chair, and was sound asleep. "Where are Dom and Lils?"

"Lily ran off, something about a ballerina and Dom isn't feeling well, she locked the door to her room and was asleep last I checked. But that was nearly four hours ago."

"You were up until 3:00?" Harry asked, surprised, Teddy wasn't known for being an all nighter, well unless he was teething but that had been years ago. Both Teddy and Victoire nodded their heads. "Was something wrong that you were up so late?" he pried.

"No, we were just talking." Victoire said, it was almost the truth.

"Oh, well I am glad to see you two getting along." Harry said with a nod before being jumped on by a purple tutu clad Lily.

"Daaddddeeee!" she squealed. He picked her up and spun her around. "I'm not mad at Teddy anymore." She said, smiling.

"Is that so?" Harry said, grinning at Teddy over Lily's head.

"Yup, he let me do his hair, and makeup and I painted all of his nails." She said with a nod, Harry glanced at Teddy who was holding up a very blue hand.

"It appears you did his whole hand Lilikins."

She shrugged. "Not my fault he kept wigglin around. Can we have eggs now?"

Harry laughed and headed out of the room. "Only if you promise never to make me let you paint my nails." He said.


	10. Chapter 10: In The Trees

Chapter Ten

**In The Trees**

The last month and a half had been one of the longest of Teddy's life. He wanted nothing more than to be with Victoire, however, every opportunity eluded them. First, well, his parents had come home. Then two days later she and her brother and sister had left for France to spend two weeks with their Grandparents and new little cousin. The week they had come home Teddy had left for a week long stretch with Ollie to see the semifinals and the final of the European quidditch cup. Upon his return, Harry and Ginny had taken all four kids on a trip to the Caribbean for two weeks. He spent four days with his Gramma Andromeda and now here he was two days from going back to Hogwarts and he hadn't seen Victoire for more than just a family Sunday lunch three times since their kiss. He was losing his mind. Not to mention that he had gotten to see Rhyan the week of the quidditch matches, every day. A side effect of both Gwenog and Oliver coaching playoff teams. He had made certain not to kiss her or lead her on in any way. He was pretty sure she was assuming it was because of them getting caught in his room, but he didn't want to talk to her about it until he knew what Victoire had wanted him to say.

They were heading to the burrow for the final big family dinner of summer break. He was a nervous wreck.

"You alright, Ted? You have changed your shirt four times. It is just dinner at Grandmum's house." Ginny said, leaning her head against his shoulder. When had he gotten taller than her?

He shrugged. "Yeah, just. It is nothing." He muttered, pulling the hem of the shirt over the waistband of his new jeans nervously.

"Ted, sweety." She said, turning him to face her. "I'm not that thick you know…Or too old to understand what is going on."

"Huh?"

"Victoire." She said simply.

His face went white. "I swear, we didn't do anything in the house…Or anywhere else." He added as an afterthought.

"I didn't think that you had." She said. "It is alright to like her you know."

"I-I-are you sure?" he blustered.

Ginny laughed. "I am. I really am. You know, it is also alright to tell her how you feel." She stated, taking a seat on his desk chair.

"I think she knows." He said certainly.

"Have you told her?"

"Not in so many words." His cheeks reddened slightly.

"Tell her, you can't expect her to know if you don't tell her."

"But…"

"Teddy, pretend for a second that I was a fifteen year old girl once. You need to tell her."

He looked at her and bit his lip, his nerves getting the better of him.

"Wear the orange shirt. It looks good with your blue hair." She said with a smile before kissing his cheek. "I don't remember when I said it was alright for you to grow up on me, but you have done a great job at it. I am very very proud of you Teddy bear."

"Thanks mum." He said, before tearing his trunk apart to find the orange button down shirt.

He didn't think he had ever been more nervous, ever. Even the first time he kissed a girl in third year, he wasn't this nervous. They arrived at the burrow after Harry sidelonged Teddy and Lily, Ginny following with Jamie and Al. Walking up to the property there was a random game of quidditch going on, a few kids running around playing tag and then random Aunts just helping and wondering in and out of the house. Teddy walked into the yard and looked around curiously.

"By the river bed!" his uncle Bill had called from a broom as he swept over head.

"Thanks!" Teddy called back, running off towards one of their childhood play places.

As he approached he slowed his walk, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets. He saw the sun glint off of her hair. She was sitting with her bare legs dangling off of the lowest tree branch, staring over the water. It struck him how he had never quite appreciated her in her summer shorts before.

"Always in the trees." He said with a smile as he swung himself up to sit on the branch on the other side of the huge linden tree that overlooked the bank.

"Hey. How were your travels?" she asked, swinging her legs. He noticed that she looked at her knees, she didn't make eye contact at all.

"They were alright. I started missing home by the end of it though. I feel like I was grounded and then gone for the rest of the time." He said, lying back on his branch.

The leaves completely obscured the sun that was shining brightly today. It made it shine down in yellowish green patches that shimmered when the breeze blew. It was quite comfortable in this spot, it was such that unless you knew right where to look, you wouldn't see them, however, most of their family, did know where to look, as they had chosen this spot as their own years and years ago.

"Look how terrible our writing on our initials is. We were so little when we carved that." He said, looking at the scribbled writing.

"It is only messy because you wouldn't let me do it. Stubborn, you always have been."

"I suppose so." He said with a grin. "You wouldn't have me any other way though." He said confidently.

"I don't know, it can get wearing from time to time." She sighed theatrically.

"Smart ass." He muttered.

"Watch that mouth Mr. Potter-Lupin. I would hate to have to wash it out."

"Mmmmhhhhmmm." He mumbled, watching the stream of sun that was showing through the leaves shine off of her hair again. "How was your holiday?"

She shrugged. "Honestly?"

"Of course." He scoffed, when have I ever wanted you to lie to me?"

"It was confusing." She said softly.

Her expression breaching his happy mood, he sat up and looked at her seriously.

"Do I want you to tell me why?"

"Probably not…" she said, watching her fingers tear up a leaf.

"Well, tell me anyways." He sighed, grabbing the trunk of the tree and swinging around so he was on her branch, right beside her.

"I don't know how to tell you when I don't even want to say it myself."

"Vic," he said softly, placing his fingers under her chin and pulling her face up to look at him. "You can always tell me anything. It doesn't ever matter what it is. Ever. I promise."

"I think this will matter." She said, he noticed her eyes shining.

"Are you crying?" he said, stunned.

She shook her head and wiped her eyes to hide the tears. "No."

He smirked, "Alright then, you aren't crying. What do you need to tell me? I swear I will not be mad."

"I am not worried about you being mad." She said, her tears returning, he pretended not to notice them.

"Vic, please, you are killing me over here."

She took in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "We can't be together."

His breath hitched in his throat, "Alright?" he said slowly. "Care to tell me why not?"

She resumed her tearing of leaves. "Be real Teddy, we knew we couldn't be. We both have a boyfriend or girlfriend already.

"That is not true." He said calmly, trying to figure out if his heart had started beating again.

"It is too true. I am still dating Gavin, I have written to him once a week all summer."

He tried to hide the fact that he was biting back a retort asking if Gavin had even bothered to write her back. "Well, yes, that is true. But technically, Rhyan was never my actual girlfriend. We were taking things slowly, we never quite got to that point."

"Oh yes, because putting your hand up her shirt is taking things slowly." She snorted.

"Hey, I got carried away. No judging." He defended.

"Right. Sorry." She mumbled.

"I never asked her. I was going to, before you know, we got carried away. And then you and I happened, and I was waiting…to talk to you."

"Even if you aren't exclusive with her, I am exclusive with Gavin." She explained.

"Then you are aware you cheated on him rather severely a few weeks back right." He was mentally slapping himself for blurting it out.

"Yes, I am aware of that, thanks for the reminder. Look Teddy, I can't just break up with him because all of a sudden I think I might like you too. That isn't fair to him."

"I am not a hufflepuff, I don't care about fairness." He said so honestly that she laughed despite the tear on her cheek.

"I know you are not a hufflepuff. You have to understand. I still like him, I never stopped, I have been dating him for nearly a year."

"Look Vic, you have obviously thought a lot about this."

"I have."

"And it is obvious that you are upset about even deciding this."

"I am."

"But you need to know. I do like you."

"I know."

"I like you far more than I should."

"I know that too."

"I won't stop liking you just because you don't like me back."

"I didn't say that I didn't like you." She said heatedly.

He looked her over quickly, she was finally looking at him, but he couldn't find it in himself to look at her.

"It is simple. You like one of us more than the other. You chose him. I get that. But you have to get that I won't stop liking you."

"But you like Rhyan too." She moaned.

"I do. But not nearly as much as I like you. I could never like anyone the way I like you. But I won't force you to be with me. I want you to be with someone because you want to be, not because you think you have to be, to keep them. Just, will you answer one question for me? And be honest?"

She nodded her head, afraid if she spoke she would cry.

"That night. You wanted to do that right? I didn't force it on you?"

"I can honestly say I have never wanted anything, anything, in my entire life, more than I wanted that."

He nodded his head and jumped out of the tree.

"You aren't mad at me?" she whimpered, afraid of his answer.

"No, I could never be mad at someone for this Vic, least of all you." She nodded as he took a few steps and then turned back. "But, I do want to point out. For this being what you want. You seem awfully upset about it. And, if you wanted that kiss nearly as much as I did, not doing that again, not being together, it just seems wrong."

They met one another's eyes for a long moment before he began the lonely walk back up to the burrow. When he reached the orchard, and could barely see the outcropping of trees at the bank, he steeled his face against his emotions. He looked up at the game going on above him.

"Can I play?" he called to no one in particular.

"Come on, we are uneven anyways, but you and your mum can't be on the same team, that is hardly fair." Percy said, waiving him into the air.

"Then I call dad's team." He said quickly.

"Listen at him, so quick to pick the chosen one. Why is it that everyone always forgets that I turned down seeking for the national team?" Charlie said, his hands in the air.

"It has nothing to do with that." Harry said, as Ginny flew towards Teddy sidling up to her son.

"Yeah, well what is it then?"

"You are just too old to play the game now." He shrugged.

"Oh is that so little brother. Let's see who gets this snitch first." Charlie challenged.

As everyone flew off Ginny marked Teddy's side for a minute. "Where is Vic?"

"At the riverbed." He said simply.

"I take it things did not go as you hoped?" she said, wrinkling her nose.

"They could have gone better." He admitted, watching his uncle George deflect a goal from Bill. "Mum, your team just missed a goal." He pointed out.

"Don't you worry, I'll catch us up in a minute." She said confidently, he chuckled knowing that with George keeping instead of beating that it was a very true statement. "Are you alright?"

"I will be." He said, watching as James tried to put a goal past Uncle Ron, he was unsuccessful.

"You two aren't fighting?"

"No, I would never fight with her over this. If she doesn't want to date me then that is up to her. I wouldn't want her to do it because she was afraid of losing me. I want her to want to be with me." He said with a sigh.

Ginny beamed at him, "I am so so proud to say you are my son." She said, hugging him in mid air.

"OI, no hugging the enemy! Teddy, I am losing out here!" James yelled.

Teddy grinned, "Sorry mum, but out here, you can't call me son, but winner will work with me." He said with a grin as he back flipped out of her stunned arms.


	11. Chapter 11: The Truth Hurts

Chapter Eleven

**The Truth Hurts**

As much as he had wanted to come home at the anniversary last year, he wanted to come back to Hogwarts now. He had told Victoire the truth, he wasn't mad at her. Not in the least. But he wasn't happy either. And looking at his doorway just rubbed it in his face. He was sitting in his dorm throwing a quaffle back and forth with Ollie and Tarryn, talking about their summers and just reveling in being back at school.

"You didn't ask her?"

"No, there were, extenuating circumstances shall we call them…" he said, trying to avoid the conversation.

"Yeah, his mum walked in the room right after he stuck his hand up her shirt." Ollie said, laughing and dropping the quaffle.

"I can see how that would put a damper on the situation." Tarryn said, laughing along with Ollie.

"But what I can't understand, is why you didn't ask her at the Cup? We were together the entire time."

"Well, I didn't want to ask her with you sitting there." Teddy hedged.

Ollie shrugged. "There were plenty of times you could have asked her without me being there."

"I don't see why it matters? So I haven't asked her, so what."

"She is going to get antsy eventually, she will find someone else." Tarryn said, searching his trunk for his pyjamas.

"Don't worry about me, I have plenty of time to handle my business, you two however are still both single. How am I the one getting the third degree?"

"I plan on remedying my situation in a week or so. I am asking out your cousin Lucy." Tarryn said with a nod.

"WHAT!" Teddy practically shouted.

"She is a fourth year, and hot."

"She is fourteen!"

"She will be fifteen. And my birthday falls late, I just turned sixteen a week ago." He said with a shrug.

"I swear if I find your ass with her in a hallway."

"I'd have to help him, I have spent a lot of time with his younger cousins over the years." Ollie said.

"Why didn't you help me with Vic?" Teddy blustered.

"Because Vic can take me in a heartbeat, I am scared of her."

Teddy rolled his eyes and Tarryn laughed.

"Her and Gavin were arguing on the train today." Tarryn piped up.

"Already?" Ollie said, "They waste no time."

"Can we refrain from talking about Victoire in this dorm this year?"

"Well, you will have to tell Stephen but, we can try and do that. You two fighting again?"

"No, not really, we are fine I just. We can't talk about this." He mumbled. He climbed into his bed and messed with the pillows.

"You know mate, you can just tell her that you like her." Ollie said quietly.

Teddy's head shot up. "Did everyone know that I liked her before I did?"

His roommates eyes met, "Yeah, I think so. Except, maybe her. She didn't know."

"She does now." He said miserably.

"You told her!" Tarryn nearly yelled.

"Well, I, I kind of snogged her first" he mumbled.

"Wait a minute…You snogged Victoire Weasley, hottest girl in the top three years and we are just now hearing about it?"

"And that is all you are going to hear about it. We kissed, it was great, really, really great, I asked her out. She doesn't want to break up with pretty boy."

"Head pretty boy." Ollie countered.

"What! NO! That prat cannot be head boy, My life is ruined." Teddy moaned. "She didn't want to break it off with him, she likes him more. So I am technically a free agent, though I think I am just going to do it, I am just going to ask Rhyan out. What reasons do I have not to?"

"Yeah, and hope that Prefect Victoire didn't divulge as much with her roommates as you did with us."

"Yes, that too."

"You know, you are sort of using her as a rebound girl." Tarryn said quietly, trying to avoid Teddy's glare.

"I will tell her ahead of time." Teddy murmured. "Though how, I have no idea."

"You are going to say, Hey, Rhyan, I really want you to be my girlfriend but I might be a bit mopey because Vic turned me down first. I don't think that will go over well."

"Well it is a good thing that hadn't been what I intended on saying then." Teddy rolled his eyes and threw himself back on the blankets.

How was he going to handle this one? Why couldn't anything ever just be easy? He knew the answer, he had chosen the most dramatic, high strung girl that he possibly could have found to fall in love with, and if that didn't make matters hard enough, she was his best mate. You would think after being mates for over 15 years that she wouldn't catch him off his guard. Man. Had he been wrong. Victoire always required closer attention, she could do sneaky things like make you fall in love with out you even noticing. Wait had he said that right? Made him fall in love? No, surely not, made him fall in like? Damn, this was not good, not good at all. What was he going to say to Rhyan? Not only had Vic single handedly flipped his world upside down and left it that way, she was going to destroy his quidditch team.

O0o0o0o

"You are far too quiet tonight." Rhyan said as she reached out and touched his arm.

He jumped. "What?"

"Teddy, are you alright?"

"Sure I am, my mind is just elsewhere."

"It has been since coming back. You know we have been in classes for six weeks now? I doubt you even remember the name of the new chaser and keeper that you picked at tryouts. You barely pay attention in practice, I know something is going on. You know, I am a great listener."

He looked around at the now empty common room. When had that happened?

"What time is it?"

She looked at her watch. "Close to 2:00, we are going to be exhausted for classes today. Now talk, why are you all quiet? We have been back for weeks and you have barely said two words to me Teddy, it is almost like it was before the cup match last year. We have only kissed a handful of times. I am getting a complex here. I know getting caught and grounded didn't shake you up like that. Your parents aren't that harsh, spill."

He looked at her, trying to think clearly, what was he supposed to say to her? "I kissed Victoire over the summer." He blurted.

She sat back in her seat, surveying him slowly.

"Alright."

"I am sorry." He said, dropping his head into his hands miserably, his hair flipped about, it was a dull silver/gray color.

"Teddy, we aren't exclusive. We weren't then either." She said softly.

He looked up, frowning slightly. "I know we aren't, and weren't. But we good as well were. I was going to ask you, but then… And then."

"Is this why you were so reserved with me at the cup?" she inquired.

"Yeah. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to tell you and ruin the cup, but I didn't want to not tell you and lead you on either."

"But, I know, for a fact, that she is not dating you, she is dating Gavin still." She said, confused.

"Yes, I however did not find that out until two days before school let in."

"Ahhhh."

"I am so sorry Ry."

"I am alright. But I really, really, do like you Teddy."

"I know you do, I never questioned that. I really like you too. Why do you think I didn't just ask you to date me in the hospital wing and then break up with you when school let out? I really like you. More than I had ever liked anyone. I didn't want to hurt you, or rush anything."

"But you were going to cool it with me, for Victoire."

He wasn't sure if that had been a statement or a question. "I was."

"You like her more. It is simple as that."

He flinched. It was like having his own words thrown back at him. "But I still like you."

"Yes, I get that, and I still like you. But I like you far too much for you to put me second. I really, really, like you Teddy and if we date, seriously date, and Victoire changes her mind and wants to date you. I don't want to be left heartbroken. Surely you get that."

He sighed and ran his hand over his tired eyes. "I do, I do get that. But I still want to be with you."

"And you still want to be with her." She stated.

"Well, yes."

"You can't have both Teddy."

He huffed. "Apparently, I can't have either. See this is why I always date girls like Corrinne, this is too hard, too confusing. Fall for two girls, have to pick one, pick the wrong one, lose them both. You should always date girls that are not serious, I should have stuck to my ways." He grumbled.

"I am sorry Teddy. Do you want me to be honest?"

"Yes." He moaned. Sometimes he really hated the trait in him that valued honesty, sometimes he just wished someone would lie to him, or let him lie to them. Damn morals. He would have to talk to his parents about the way they raised him.

"I already like you too much for this not to hurt me too. But I like you enough to know that any more time with you and I am going to willingly do something neither of us ever has, and if we got to that point and you broke up with me for her. I don't know what I would do. I would be devastated. At least this way, the hurt isn't as bad."

"I didn't mean to hurt you. Last year, when we kissed, I didn't even know I really liked her. It was a sudden development."

"I know. I believe you, I do. I am sorry I have to do this. And I am sorry she stayed with Gavin. You should have come first. I am assuming that, that conversation was nearly the same as this one, only in reverse."

"Yep, but on both sides I ended up losing." He muttered.

She stood up and leaned closer to him, kissing him softly, he put his hand in the back of her mussed up hair, holding her against his lips.

"Are you sure?" he plead. His breath whisper soft against her skin.

"I am. I'm sorry." She practically whimpered. He pushed his lips harder against hers and let her go, she took a step back and he saw for the first time, the firelight flickering off of her tears.

"No Rhyan, I am. I'm so, so incredibly sorry." He said, closing his eyes and throwing his head back.

0o0o0o0o

He was being shaken awake.

"Teddy! Oi earth to the Gryffindor captain, you are going to be late to defense and you are still in yesterday's clothes!" came Ollie's voice.

He opened his eyes and looked around the common room.

"Damn it!" he said, jumping up and ruffling his hands through his lemon yellow hair. "I'll skip breakfast and meet you there." He called as he ran up to their dorm to get ready.

0o0o0o

He was half way to Defense when he saw Victoire leaning against a wall, giggling girlishly at something Gavin had said. He was leaning over her, using one hand to stable himself on the wall, the picture of laying it on thick.

"Stupid git." He muttered. Though in that moment, he couldn't be sure which one of the pair he was honestly talking about.

Knowing this was the fastest way to get to his class, and he was already running beyond late, he grudgingly walked towards them, he just had to walk by. Just walk by, not say anything just walk by. That was his mantra.

"OI, Lupin!" came Gavin's voice.

Damn it he had nearly made it past. He turned, his fists clenched and looked at the head boy, knowing that the look on his face was less than friendly.

"What." He snapped.

"Not so touchy. Classes started five minutes ago, that'll be 5 points from Gryffindor." He said with a smirk.

"You two are in the halls." Teddy pointed out.

"I am head boy, I can be in the halls whenever I want." Gavin replied.

"Right, how could I have been so daft? Can I go now? I am late for class, as you already pointed out."

"Sure, only I had a question I was wondering if I could ask?"

"Gavin, just let him be." Victoire plead, pulling on his arm, he shook her off.

Teddy couldn't resist shooting her a glare, this was all her fault.

"I saw that pretty little girlfriend of yours earlier. Her face was all splotchy and she was sniffling and looking tired, mumbling a lot of nonsense to her little Ravenclaw friend. What did you do to the poor thing? Did you try and sleep with her? Because you should know that when you are as bad in bed as you are, it will traumatize a girl."

"GAVIN!" Victoire tried to scold.

He felt his blood boil. He didn't think he had ever hated anyone the way he hated Gavin. Then again, as she stood there saying nothing in his defense, he was pretty mad at Victoire too, seeing as she was partly responsible for Rhyan's upset. He felt his hand constrict on his wand. He was trying to remember to breathe.

"Do you not remember the last quidditch match? Do you want to end up flat on your back, staring up at the rest of us competing again?" Teddy seethed.

"If I am remembering it right, you are the one that ended up in the hospital wing, not me."

Damn, he had a valid point.

"And, that was all your beaters doing. It had very little to do with you, you think you are such a big man, such a hot shot, but someone always does your dirty work for you."

"Gavin please stop." Victoire tried.

"You and your poor little girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend." Teddy shot scathingly, interrupting his rant.

"Oh, is that why she was all upset, you broke another one's heart. You are such a hypocrite."

Victoire was looking at him unfathomably. She had been sure he would just go back to Rhyan. Which, admittedly, he had, after a bit, it just hadn't worked out well for him.

"NO, I will have you know I am not. I am not a hypocrite, if a girl doesn't want to be with me I don't guilt them into it.

"Is that why you think she is with me? I guilt her into it?" he said nodding to Victoire.

"I don't know why she is with you. I have yet to understand it."

"Please leave me out of this." Victoire whined, hiding her face.

"Oh yes Vic, let's leave you out of it. Merlin knows you aren't going to speak up for me for any reason right? Just sit there like a pretty trophy and let him bash all over me and I am supposed to take it because I care about you and don't want you hurt. Fuck this." He said, throwing up his hands and walking away.

"That'll be another five points!" Gavin called from behind him.

"Sod off McLaggen!" Teddy said, walking away with a rude hand gesture.

0o0o0o0o

VIctoire turned and looked at Gavin icily. "What is the matter with you?"

"He started it. He always interrupts us." He said in a silky voice, pulling her to him by her hips.

"He didn't say a word to us. In fact I am pretty certain he would have rather died than walked past us right then." She said, crossing her arms angrily.

"Don't be upset." He cooed. "I can't help it. He likes you, I know he does. He would do anything to take you from me." He said, kissing her ear softly. "I love you too much to lose you. It is my biggest fear."

"He isn't going to take me away Gavin. I think last year proved that. He has moved on, but you haven't. You have to stop, I can't take it. He is my best mate. I have known him all my life. Pleas just leave him alone." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I thought I was your best mate now. I should be. You have spent the first half of your life with him, the rest is mine. You know I love you, right Tori?"

It wasn't the first time he had said those words, but it was the first time she hadn't felt her heart beat faster because of them. "I know." She said meekly.

"And you love me too right?" he pressured, nudging her face with his nose.

Had she not been thinking about the look on Teddy's face, Gavin's actions right now would have been really sweet. "I-I yes, of course I do, you know I do."

"Then meet me tonight. Down at the quidditch pitch. Show me." He said softly.

She knew what he wanted, she knew that if her and Teddy hadn't stopped themselves she would have been more than willing to go there that night, why didn't she feel ready to do that with Gavin? She had been with him for nearly a year, surely that was enough time to be with someone…

"I can't tonight. Remember, I have rounds all week. You made the schedule, silly." She said, attempting to sound playful rather than nervous.

"Saturday then, I know we are both off duties." He said, kissing her cheek.

"Alright." She said timidly.

"You know that no one will ever love you like me." He whispered.

She nodded as he kissed her cheek and took her hand. She couldn't help but wonder if that was true.


	12. Chapter 12: Because You Were There

_**Thank you for reading and reviewing!**_

Chapter Twelve

**Because You Were There**

He couldn't even think about her let alone look at her. That is why Teddy was to be found roaming the school bounds late in the evening Saturday night. He pushed his hands over his face. He had to get over this. She obviously loved Gavin. There wasn't even really a question there. She wouldn't have stayed with him if she didn't. He wasn't stupid, he knew that when he wasn't around Gavin said sweet things to her and acted lovey. He had seen it, before he had interrupted them in the hallway several times last year. And, in the beginning of their relationship, Teddy had even been alright with it. Well as alright as Teddy ever was with one of her boyfriends. He was a bit irritated but then again, he was always irritated with her boyfriends. A sign he now saw for what it was, outright jealousy. It made him wonder if he had been wrong for stopping them when he came across them, Gavin was right, it wasn't anything Teddy himself hadn't done. Though admittedly he found more private places and if the girl didn't want to take a step, he had never taken it.

The question was if VIctoire had ever actually said she wasn't ready. He couldn't remember her ever telling him that, he had just assumed it. He assumed he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't. But maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought he did. Maybe Gavin knew her better. After all, she had seemed ready over the summer. The only reason they had stopped had been the fact that they were in his house and were responsible for the kids. Would she have stopped him otherwise? He knew he wouldn't have stopped it. It hadn't felt like she would have either. Maybe he was all wrong. Maybe she was ready and he was the one that wasn't ready for her to take that step with someone else. Maybe it was just him being jealous.

He let his mind drift over his and Gavin's rivalry. They had never really liked each other. Teddy couldn't stand the way he was such a prick on the pitch. He was always talking a big game and he yelled at his players a lot. Something Teddy did not do, or agree with. He hated the way he strutted around the castle because he was captain and prefect. He hated the way Victoire had seemed blinded by him, she was different around him. He couldn't stand it. Gavin had been less than nice to Dom ever since she got sorted. Victoire had blown it off as Dom being whiney but he had a feeling there was more to it than that.

He had seen her kiss other guys. It had never bugged him like Gavin had, at least not to that extent. Then again, he had never seen her knickers in a hallway with any of them either. There was no repairing it now, either way. He and Gavin could not stand one another. They were like oil and water and unfortunately Victoire had been forced to choose. Teddy and Gavin were never going to get along, and that was all there was to it. Whether it be because of quidditch, or Vic, or Gavin's pompous attitude, or just outright dislike. It wasn't fixable now. He wondered if he and VIctoire were even truly fixable at this point, she had let so much come between them. Had just ignored pretty much everything Gavin had said or done. He walked between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw locker rooms, kicking a half deflated quaffle down the narrow walk. When their voices drifted to him from the cracked window he cursed.

Damn it. It was like he was magnetically attracted to them or something. He had left the school to get away from seeing her in the common room. And sodding hell if she wasn't cloistered in the change rooms with the prick. This was torment on its deepest level. It was like he was cursed or something. He tried to block it out until he got away from the low level buildings. He tried to sing the school song as loud as he could in his head. Until VIctoire's voice got louder and made his blood freeze in his veins.

"Just stop." She demanded.

This was not his business, he needed to walk away, she didn't need him, she didn't want him, just walk away Teddy. His feet did not heed his head's warnings.

"Come on Tori, you promised. You said you loved me." Came Gavin's voice.

Teddy gritted his teeth, this was not his battle. This was not his problem.

"I changed my mind Gavin. I don't want to do this. I can't, I just, I don't want to. I just want to go back to the castle."

"Just, stay with me, kiss me, we won't do anything else."

Teddy hadn't realized he had fully turned towards the opening of the locker room. Nor had he realized he was now standing in the doorway, only a few steps and a couple turns from completely going in.

"No, I am done. I am not doing this. I am just done with it, all of it. Let me go."

"What do you mean you are done?"

Teddy couldn't breathe, he really needed to get out of here but he was rooted to the spot. Not your fight, not your fight. He chanted in his head.

"I can't, I can't be with you. Not like this, not now. In fact, not anymore. Not at all. I'm sorry, I just can't. It isn't right." she said softly.

Gavin had laughed, making Teddy's very bones seem like they were on fire. "Is this you trying to break up with me?" Be real Victoire. Get over here, I am not done talking to you."

"Ouch. Gavin, let go you are hurting me."

He was poised to move. How pissed at him would she be?

"Oh no, you are mine. I told you before, you are my girlfriend. You will always be my girl. You promised that it would be tonight. I have waited months, MONTHS! Who do you think is going to take you? No one would risk me coming after them. Not to mention no one wants a tease. We make sense and you know it. No one else will have you, after I have. I will tell them, they won't want my seconds."

"Owe. Please let go. Just stop, just let go." She whimpered.

He was afraid he had broken the stone with the force he had pushed off of it.

"NO one will treat you like I do."

"You are right, I would treat her far better." He growled. "Get your fucking hands off of her."

Gavin looked up, stunned. Victoire's face was torn between, fear anger, and relief. Standing about two feet from them was Teddy, emanating rage like Victoire had never seen from him. Gavin had her pinned against the wall her hands crossed and held in one of his above her head, his body holding the rest of her hostage. His other hand on her shoulder. She didn't even have the time to be embarrassed that Teddy was seeing her shirtless with another man.

"Sod off Lupin. As usual this does not concern you." Gavin roared.

Without warning Teddy had made his way to them, she wondered briefly when he had gotten to be the same height as Gavin, side by side he was bigger than him, his quidditch muscles showing in the fitted shirt he wore. Before she could begin to think about it though, Teddy had grabbed Gavin by the nape of his neck and pulled him away from her. When his hands released hers Teddy grabbed him by the front of the throat and threw him bodily into the lockers on the other side of the room.

Gavin hadn't pulled himself to a full stand before Teddy had him pinned rather similarly to how he had Victoire. Teddy had him by the shoulders, his knee in his stomach, pressing to the point that Gavin appeared to be breathless.

"One word and I fucking swear to Merlin I won't need a wand to make you scream."

Realizing the desperation in the situation she remembered how to move and rushed forward. Wrapping her arms around Teddy's waist, her face pressed into his back.

"Teddy, Teddy please." She begged.

"How can you even stick up for him?" he hissed, his hands now shaking, Gavin's eyes widened, the fear showing.

"I'm not, I'm not at all. Take me back to the common room. Just leave him. Please I can't bear you getting kicked out of school for this. Teddy please, I need you to listen to me. Please Ted, I need you." She cried. He felt his shirt moisten on his back from her tears.

He let off the pressure and she watched Gavin breathe a little easier.

"Let him go. Come with me, don't make me go back alone. Please Ted." She cried, tears falling freely down her face.

He pulled his arms back, letting Gavin fall to the floor noisily. Gavin stood, his face red, he opened his mouth briefly until Victoire, to both Teddy and Gavin's surprise, ducked under Teddy's arm and slapped her hand across his face.

"If you ever come near me again. I won't need him to stop you." She said, her blue eyes flashing. "You forget, I may be a little girl to you but I was trained to duel by a curse breaker and Harry Potter. Keep away from me." She spat.

Before Gavin could say anything she grabbed Teddy's hand and pulled. He didn't move, standing immobile, staring at the shocked Ravenclaw. He took a step forward bringing the two boys toe to toe, and eye to eye.

"Be glad that she was here." He said menacingly before pulling his fist back and letting it crush into Gavin's jaw, causing his head to slam into the wooden locker behind him. "Or that, would have been worse."

Finally Victoire's tugging seemed to enter into his head and he let her pull him from the room. They were standing outside of it before she released his hand and wrapped her arms around her naked chest. Her nudity breached his senses and he pulled her into the Gryffindor locker room a few feet away. Trying not to look at her, he pulled his white shirt over his head and then pulled it over hers, holding it out as she shoved her arms in. It hung loosely on her. She had started shaking slightly, somehow he thought it might be the shock of everything that had happened rather than the chilly October air. He wanted to hug her and to never let her go, only, he wasn't sure if that is what she wanted him to do.

"I am so stupid." She cried, pushing the tears roughly from her face.

He just stared at her, not sure how to respond to that.

"You-you're not stupid." He mumbled, pushing her hair from her face, it was sticking to her tears.

"Yes, I am. You don't have to lie."

"Alright, well, maybe for dating him in the first place. But not for tonight. Not even I predicted that happening. You aren't stupid." He soothed.

She didn't seem to have the will to argue about it, instead she fell forward, allowing him to catch her in his arms and she began to cry, harder than she ever remembered crying in her life. He lifted her and carried her to the corner where his locker stood and lowered himself to the floor with her on his lap.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered into his shoulder.

"Why on Earth are you apologizing to me?" Teddy asked, a bit astounded.

"For being stupid." She said, wiping her eyes.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Vic, you have been my friend forever. We have each had our share of stupid moments."

"None like this." She said with a watery chuckle.

"Well, no, none quite like this. Though getting lost in the floo network ranks up there. And getting caught with a girl in my room. Oh and pretty much telling your dad about you snogging in the hall last year." He said, wiping a tear off of her cheek.

"My father is going to kill me." She muttered.

"Let's just hope he doesn't see these bruises on your wrists and shoulder that are forming. After all he will come after me first."

"Too true." She said, nodding her head.

"You quit seeing Rhyan?" she asked, they hadn't talked since she found out.

"I hardly think that now is the appropriate time to discuss her." He said slowly.

"We have to talk about something, and I don't think there is really much left to be said about Gavin."

"We are in huge disagreement there. But no, actually, she quit seeing me. After I told her about kissing you."

"You told her?"

"Of course I did. I couldn't ask her to date me and be dishonest with her. She deserved to know the truth."

"So you told her the truth and she turned you down?"

Strangely he laughed, "Yeah, I have a really bad string of luck going with girls."

She laughed sadly in response, after all, she had started it.

"Come on, let's get you back to the castle. Curfew is in twenty minutes, and the last thing we need is to get caught out of bounds by the bloody head boy." He grumbled.

"You think he is going to go to someone about you punching him?"

"I think he is thick if he does. Are you going to go to someone about tonight?"

"No, I don't know how to explain why I was alone in a locker room with my shirt off if I do."

"I think you should."

"He won't come near me again. I am sure of it."

"If he does I might kill him." Teddy said with a scowl.

"I think I would let you." She admitted as they walked quickly into the castle.

They walked in silence for several minutes. They were nearly to the portrait hole when a voice cleared from behind them. They both spun instantly.

"Mr. Lupin, dare I ask where the rest of your clothes are?" said Professor McGonagall. He had quite forgotten he was shirtless. Her eyes narrowed in on the white shirt hanging off of Victoire. "Or would it be better to ask where Miss. Weasley's clothes are?"

"Well, I-I- uhm." Teddy stuttered. This was not good at all.

"They are in the Ravenclaw locker room professor." Victoire said quietly.

Teddy's head spun, his eyes meeting hers, what was she doing?

"Why are your clothes in Ravenclaw's locker room?"

"Because I snuck out there with McLaggen and he tried to go farther than I was willing to go. It is my fault. Teddy just happened to walk past and stopped it. He gave me his shirt. Please don't punish him." She said desperately.

"Mr. Lupin, is this true?" McGonagall said fiercely.

"I-I-ah…." Teddy stuttered. What was she thinking? She was going to get herself expelled.

"It is, I swear it. I was out of bounds, with a boy. The headboy to be exact. And I smacked him. Teddy punched him when he heard me through the window. He wouldn't let me go. Teddy heard it. He heard me say that Gavin was hurting me. He came in. It wasn't Teddy's fault. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time…or the right time, I guess it depends on how you are looking at it. Please, I chose to go down there, knowing why I was there. It isn't his fault." She said, hanging her head.

"Mr. Lupin, take yourself straight to your common room, I will take Miss. Weasley from here. I think we will stop and pick up a certain head boy on the way. I believe you owe your friend a debt of thanks Victoire." She said firmly.

"Right, I- thank you Teddy, really I don't know where I would be without you." She said softly, and hugged him tightly.

"I-I- what are you doing?" He spluttered, pulling away from her.

"I guess I am going to the Head office." She said as McGonagall nodded.

"But."

"To your dorm Teddy." McGonagall said firmly.

"But."

"TO. Your. Dorm." She said again, leaving no room for arguments.

He glanced at a thoroughly miserable looking Victoire and frowned before reluctantly turning away from them and heading to Gryffindor tower.

O0o0o0

It seemed like hours later, probably because it was, when Victoire walked through the portrait hole. Teddy was alone in the common room once again and he stood when she stumbled in. She smiled slightly when she saw him.

"Are you alright?" he demanded.

She shrugged. "My dad threatened to pull me out of school."

"What, he is here?"

"Was here. Uncle Harry came with him. I don't know how he managed to talk him out of it, but he did. If you thought Gavin was scared of you, you should have seen him when my dad threatened to kill him." She said with a glint in her eyes as she held up her brilliantly purple wrists.

"You have had a lot of trouble with bruises in the last year." He muttered taking her hands and running his fingers over her wrists lightly.

"You can say that again."

"Why did you tell her? Why didn't you just come up with a lie?" he said suddenly.

"Well, I don't think I could have thought of one, firstly. And, I didn't want you to get in trouble again because of me and Gavin. This wasn't your fault, you never should have been dragged into it. I couldn't lie and let you go down with me. It wasn't right. I can't ask that of you. I couldn't let you get in trouble again." She shrugged.

"But I would have, willingly. I wouldn't have been mad."

"I know you wouldn't have been. You never get mad at me. Well you do, but never as mad as you should be."

"You are overestimating my self-control. Speaking of which, you and I, we have to talk, about everything, if we are going to be alright, we have to talk." He said honestly.

She nodded, her unusually tangled hair flipping over her shoulder. "I know, but not tonight, I can't do it right now. I just can't. Not after everything else."

"I know, I didn't mean tonight. But soon. I am glad that you are okay." He kissed the top of her head and turned to go to his dorm.

"Teddy…" she said slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think? Can we sleep in your room tonight? I don't want to be alone and you know just incase after we talk if a few days, things are different. Can we just sleep in your room tonight, like we used to, before things got such a mess?" she asked, he noticed the shake in her voice.

"Let me get the map." He said.

0o0o0o0

They slipped into the room of requirement mercifully unnoticed. There were two close calls but they managed to sneak past Filtch unnoticed and Teddy bribed Peeves with some Weazley's WIzz Bangs.

She sat down on the replica of his bed back at the manor and looked around, pulling her knees to her chest, and grabbing the old matted wolf. She was still wearing her jeans and his shirt. He threw the map on his desk and turned to face her pushing his hand through his powder blue hair. He looked around and smiled at his surroundings, he really did love his room.

"Well, here we are." He said nervously.

"I just, I didn't want to be by myself." She said, a tear slipping from her eyes.

"Vic, there are four other girls in your dorm." He pointed out.

"But you make me feel like everything is going to be alright. What happens if, after everything, everything that has gone on, we can't be us anymore?" She said. She looked at him, her lip trembling. "I can't believe this happened."

He sighed, knowing that the adrenaline from the evening was wearing off and that reality was setting in for her. It was probably a good thing that it was a Saturday night and there were no classes tomorrow. He wiped a tear from her cheek.

"It will be alright. Do you know how lucky he is that you were there? How lucky I am?" he said softly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a bit confused.

"For a minute, I forgot about anything but hurting him. I nearly cursed him. I would have, but you touched me. You put your arms around me and I remembered, that I had to take you away, that I couldn't let you see that. Because you were there, I remembered to be me. Vic, I don't know who I am without you. You are so much a part of me that I can't be me without you. I can't not be your friend. Last year proved that. It is only because you were there that I remembered who I am, and what I am not. Without you, there is no Teddy. You have been a part of me since before I can remember."

He sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms, she shook slightly, crying silently into his chest. "No matter what, even when you aren't anymore, you are always going to be mine. You were mine before I could even say the word. No matter who your heart belongs to, it was and will always, first and foremost be mine. You are my very best friend and that will never change. Because you will always, always be there. And so will I. And that alone, will make it alright."


	13. Chapter 13: Messed Up Pair

**_Thought we'd say hi to an old lost friend :)_**

Chapter Thirteen

**Messed Up Pair**

Teddy groggily opened his eyes and looked around the room. For a minute he wondered when he had gone back home. And then something in his arms wiggled and snapped him back to reality. He stared down at Victoire, who was still wearing his white shirt and her jeans. Last night floated slowly back to him, engulfing him like a thick cloying cloud. They had fallen asleep regaling each other with stories from when they were younger, pretending that time hormones had not ripped that solid friendship apart. She had fallen asleep first, her back against the wall. They had been looking at each other, he remembered watching her eyes close when she finally fell asleep. So how had she ended up with her head on his chest and her legs intertwined with his? The now familiar thud started in his chest, he swallowed and pushed it down. This was something he had to get a grip on. Without his consent his hand reached up and ran his hand over her head, pushing her hair away from his face. The motion woke her and she wiggled in his arms, squirming against him. He bit down on his lip as the heated sensation built in his stomach_. Not now Teddy. Not now._ He chastised himself, though her stretching did nothing for his self-control. He could feel entirely too much of her body to handle this.

He lifted his arm from around her and gently sat up, pulling her with him so he could disentangle himself. He stood and shoved his hands through his hair and down his face, his jaw prickled his palms.

"What time is it?" she asked, sitting up on her knees.

He consulted his old watch, "half past nine." He said.

"Good thing it is Sunday." She commented.

He nodded in response. "Are you hungry? We should go down to breakfast before they clear up." He said, shifting from foot to foot.

"Ted, I can't exactly go to the great hall in my jeans and your shirt, especially without a bra on." She said, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Oh, right." He muttered, he hadn't thought about what she was wearing, nor the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Besides, I think this is a better place than any other to talk." She said, settling against the pillows and wrapping his thick blankets around her.

"Alright." He said, he hadn't been prepared to talk so soon, this week, yes, this morning, not quite. "Dad has an old house elf. I haven't seen him in forever. He doesn't call on him much. He told me once he lives here at the castle. You think he would answer me if I called?"

"I don't see why not, Potter is part of your last name." she shrugged."

"Erm…How was his name again? Creature, Cretcher, Kreacher?" he called tentatively.

There was a sudden pop and an extremely old house elf was looking up at them both. He was not wearing a friendly expression.

"Erm…Hi… You might remember me…But I haven't seen you in a long time…I'm"

"Know who you are. Master's godson, take care of Teddy he says. The werewolf's son. Know who you are." The ancient wrinkled being said.

"Right, well we were hoping, could you bring us some breakfast here to the room?" he asked, nervous.

They didn't order their house elves around very often. His mum usually did the cooking, Trixie just puttered about the house doing whatever it was she did. He couldn't remember his father ever ordering this one to do anything, he had seen him talking to him on occasion, and they had visited him here at the school when they had come for his dad to talk to McGonagall or Neville but that was the extent of it.

"Is that an order?" the elf said, eying the two teens.

"Erm…more a request or favor? I am not supposed to order around house elves." Teddy replied.

The elf popped away, Teddy looked at VIctoire, slightly concerned before he popped back into the room holding a tray laden with bacon sandwiches and orange juice.

"Thank you." Victoire squeaked as he sat the trays down.

"Yes, thank you." Teddy repeated before the old elf disappeared. "Well, he is a friendly one isn't he." He said with a grin as he picked up a sandwich and stuffed it in his mouth. He took the chair at his desk, straddling it with his elbows on the backrest.

"Quite." Victoire said dryly as she lifted a sandwich and picked at the bacon.

He knew what was going through her head. How do you start this conversation? One that you know you have to have or else you will never get over anything that has happened but one that you know you have to have and then move on. Neither of them wanted to carry this with them anymore after today. She seemed to find her courage as she picked apart the sandwich.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, not meeting his eyes.

He almost lied, just to see that look go from her face, but he knew that wouldn't help anything. "I am. Very. But, probably not for the reasons you think I am."

"For dating Gavin? And letting myself be put in that situation last night?" she tried.

He shook his head and swallowed a particularly large piece, he chased it with a swig of juice before speaking. "Actually, for neither of those reasons."

"Alright, then tell me why."

He sighed and twisted the chair from side to side. "I have been mad at you since last year honestly. I just, well I felt bad for hurting you and put it aside, and then over the summer, well I was willing to put everything aside if it meant we were together. But, that would have ended badly. We would have fought eventually and I would have brought it up, tearing open old wounds and that is never good." He said watching her rub the fur on his wolf.

"I am not angry that you dated him. That was your choice. I am not mad you didn't want to date me, again, that was your choice. I am mad that after everything, everything we have been through in our lives together, that you just abandoned me at the drop of a bowler hat. He smiled and you were like Teddy who."

"It wasn't like that." She protested.

"But it was like that." He said angrily. "Vic, he insulted me, right in front of you. He insulted my father and you stood there, worse he insulted Harry, your uncle. You may not know Remus, he doesn't really mean anything to you like he does me. But you do know your uncle. He said awful things about him. He insulted me by insulting him and you didn't defend either of us. You were too busy being angry at me instead."

"I did stick up for you. You just didn't see it. Why do you think he apologized?" she said, a bit frantic at actually seeing Teddy's anger.

"Apologize? He never apologized to me, what potion did you drink? And it doesn't matter if you said something later on. I would have defended you to my death if someone did something like that to you. And you didn't do anything. I am supposed to be your best mate Vic. You know me, better than almost anyone, actually you probably do know me better than anyone. Even better than Ollie and we have been in the same classes since I was six years old. You have no idea what it felt like for you to pick him over me. And not this summer, not as a boyfriend, though that…we won't talk about that, but for you to choose his side. Just because you were embarrassed that I caught you snogging."

"It wasn't like that. I wasn't embarrassed, I was pissed that you wouldn't leave us alone. I can't take back what I did Teddy. He was my boyfriend, you aren't supposed to contradict your boyfriend." She argued.

"Since when? Mum contradicts dad all the time, yours does too infact. What about Aunt Hermione? Merlin knows her and Uncle Ron can't walk in a room without arguing about something. Have you met Grandmum? We grew up with the most independent women in Brittain. You used to be one of them, how did he knock that out of you?"

"I was just afraid." She said.

"Of what? What could have possibly kept you from being my friend? What could you have been that afraid of?"

"I was afraid he would break up with me. Don't you get it? He was the first guy to see any part of me. The first guy I had done more than kiss. The first guy that touched me. The first guy I touched. I didn't want to lose him. I thought that if I got mad at him, he would leave and I didn't want to look like a slut that just randomly messes around with guys when I had to get a new boyfriend. I had to stay with him because I had done stuff with him and I didn't want to seem slutty alright!" she exclaimed.

"Vic, that is about the thickest thing I have ever heard. Nearly every girl fifth year and up have messed around with more than one of their boyfriends."

"I know, I didn't want to be one of them. I watched you, with Merlin knows how many girlfriends, and you messed about with them, and then you left and sometimes they were fine with it, but sometimes they weren't they were broken up about it. I didn't want to be that girl. I didn't want people to look at me and say, Oh she was Gavin's last conquest. And I don't want them to say I am yours either." She blurted.

His mouth dropped open, he was shocked for a minute. "I never, but, I only ever snogged them, I never really did anything with any but two of them." He stammered.

"I know that, but the rest of the school doesn't. I didn't want to be that girl. Gavin seemed to really like me, and I really liked him. Teddy I very nearly had sex with him. We went as far as you and Corrinne, if we had broken up I would have been one of those girls. Now I am one of those girls."

"Fine, but that didn't give you an excuse to sit by and let him insult me, or your family. You have no idea how that feels. You just let him do it. For the first time in my life it was like I didn't matter to you. Someone else mattered more."

"I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I wasn't even thinking. It was like that night this summer, the kiss. Neither of us even thought, in the moment, about Gavin or Rhyan, we were so caught up that nothing else mattered right then. I just wanted the fighting to stop and when you grabbed me, I was so blinded by being mad at you, I failed to be mad at him. All I can do is say I am sorry, Teddy. I can't undo it. If I could, I promise you that I would. I don't know how to fix that." She looked miserable. He felt miserable.

"Can you promise me something?" she said quietly.

Her change of subjects caught him off guard, he stopped spinning the chair.

"Er…I can try."

"You have to stop being afraid that you are going to lose me if you do something, or I do something that is wrong. We might fight, we might even not speak for a bit. But I'm not going anywhere, not now, not then, not ever."

"I-I- I'm not afraid I am going to lose you." He said quietly, knowing deep inside he was lying.

"Bullshit. You have always been afraid to lose people you care about, or that they are suddenly going to stop loving you. And I get it, I do. You lost your parents before you ever should have. But it doesn't mean they didn't love you. Quite the contrary, they loved you enough to die to see that you had a good world to live in. I'm not going anywhere Ted. You make me so furious when I know you are mad but you hide it for fear that I will walk away."

"Well hi pot. My name is kettle. It is so nice to meet you, Miss oh I was scared to tell Gavin not to be an ass to my best friend."

She fell silent at the look on his face.

"You can't tell me not to be afraid to lose someone Vic, it is my biggest fear. You don't get it, and I don't expect you to."

"Well then just tell me. Just tell me Teddy, because for once, in our lives, we seriously need to be one hundred percent open here. Yes, we know each other better than anyone else, but for us to be able to move past everything and be together, we have to be able to understand each other. So tell me. Tell me. What don't I get?"

He looked at her wordlessly, unable to form a sentence.

"Fine, I will start." She sighed. "I hate, with everything that I am, being part Veela. Most of the time I don't have any idea whether someone likes me or the charm that I don't know how to turn the bloody hell off. That is what I liked about Gavin, yes he still had problems speaking in a full sentence for a while but he didn't hesitate to approach me, or kiss me, or demand something from me. I know it sounds stupid Teddy. But I felt normal, like a normal person."

"Vic, you are a normal person." He pointed out.

She shook her head furiously. "But I'm not. You don't see it because you are so numb to it after it always being there. Why do you think I only have one friend in my dorm? Other than that I talk to you or Ollie or the littles in the family. For the first three years the girls here hated me. They said horrible things to me and about me. About me only being half human and being abnormal and a freak. Most of the boys, excluding you and Ollie, and eventually Tarryn, either couldn't talk to me or wouldn't because then the girls wouldn't talk to them. It was like when fourth year started suddenly people just, quit seeing me as a freak and Gavin, even if he did have a slightly difficult time at first stringing a full sentence together, he was one of the first ones. I am not saying that I was right, or smart, or even that it makes any sense. I am just saying that it is, and I can't change it, and unfortunately, no matter what, this part of me is something I hate. And it is starting to become something my baby sister hates too, and I can't even help her because I don't know how to help myself. I would trade every single bit of it, just for people to treat me normal."

He let the small wheels on the chair slide him closer to the bed and he put his hand on her cheek. "Vic, I do treat you normal." He said.

"You don't treat me like any of the other girls in this castle. You didn't even think about dating me until this year when you saw me with Gavin."

"That…that… well alright, that is half true. But don't you see why? It isn't because you are part veela or exceptionally gorgeous, which you are by the way. It is because you are Victoire. You are the person that makes me happy when nothing else can. You are the person that I would go to the ends of the earth for. I would avada kadavra myself before hurting you and until very very recently I was too scared to even think about being part of a serious relationship with a girl. You have to see that. It terrifies me."

"Tell me why."

He let his head fall forward, his forehead leaning against the backrest, his hands on the back of his head, clenching his deep dark maroon curls.

"Vic, I know I didn't know them. I know I was raised with wonderful amazing parents. I really couldn't love them more if I actually was their kid. But don't you see? They don't HAVE to love me."

"But Teddy, they do."

"I know that. I am not that dense. I know they do but the point is they don't have to. Every person only has two people in this whole world that have to love them, their parents. You are hardwired to love your kid, just like a kid is hardwired to love their parents. Mine are gone. I could do something exceptionally stupid, walk away, hurt someone and they could just stop and they have that right, I am not their kid. They do not HAVE to love me. And neither does anyone else. If I mess up I could be all alone and while I know that mum and dad wouldn't do that, I can't guarantee a girlfriend won't and I am so scared to let myself risk that happening. It is hard enough to keep close friends for fear that they will get mad and leave but you. You were different, and then you just stood there like nothing that hurt me hurt you and in that second it hit. You don't have to care about me. You could just walk away with Gavin and leave me standing there hurt and it was your choice, you didn't have to be there. Just like no one else has to be. And that is when I realized that it was too late. I would already be too hurt if I lost you."

He lifted his head, actually meeting her eyes, she saw the tears shining behind his clear gray eyes, it was so rare to see them in their actual color.

"I knew, that if I lost you. I would be lost too. And no matter what you said or did, I couldn't lose you. And that is why I treat you different. I can handle losing all those other girls, I can care, but still leave. I can let them kiss me and snog me and then watch them leave because they aren't you. They aren't you Vic. I can't treat you like everyone else because to me, there is no one like you and it took fifteen years of knowing you for my thick headed ass to realize that. It isn't because you are part veela, or because when you touch my arm my stomach does this nauseous, flippy, thing. It is because you wear skirts and still will get in the mud, it is because you climb trees, it is because even though you hate to fly you will still play quidditch with me even when no one else will. You will stand in the rain while I corral Paddy in, you will play with Lily for hours and pretend to roar when you play dragons with Albie and Jamie. It is because you make me watch that damn movie twelve times a month and because you never share blankets if you fall asleep during it, because you have no issues eating the last piece of pizza or all of the chocolate or stealing my drink. It is all, every single bit, because you are you."

She was staring at him in awe, not certain what to say to him.

"And now, I am terrified, more than I ever have been, because I want nothing, nothing more than to wrap you up and keep you and never let you go but…I can't, because I am afraid that something will come and you will just stand there and let it pull us apart again. And there is nothing I can do, because you don't have to love me Vic, but I can't not love you, and I can't lose anything, anyone else. I need you too much."

"We are a really messed up pair, you know that?" she said sadly.

He laughed and leaned his head against his own shoulder. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, I think we both just need time. I need time to figure out how to just be myself, and honestly, I don't think I can handle a boyfriend again for a while after last night. I feel so dirty and gross and nothing even really happened. I really need to figure out who I am, and who I can be. And I need to show you that I am still that girl that you could always trust. You need to learn that no matter what may come between us, I'm still going to be here and that I very much do, have to love you. It is just part of me. It always will be."

He nodded and watched her eyes. Trying to figure a way around this all. "No boyfriends." He said, his eyes pleading.

"And no girlfriends, or friends with benefits either." She clarified.

He nodded in agreement. "Until we both know for sure what we want."

"We will figure it out together though, right?" she asked nervously. "And-and if…"

"If…I should see you alone in my deserted hallway in my house and want to snog you senseless I can? Or you know, next to a strategically placed broom closet? " he finished.

She laughed, "Perhaps after a few months." His hair turned his signature blue at the prospect. "Or weeks, I don't know how long I could refuse and Christmas break is coming up."


	14. Chapter 14: Letters Pictures and

**_Eeeepp sorry for the lack of updates, so so sorry._**

**_I got really sick and couldn't even write._**

**_Seeing as I wrote while in labor, that is really sick :(_**

**_I missed a new review while I was sick and didn't get to post a chapter for a reader's birthday,_**

**_Which sucks on my part so here is my happy birthday lumosmoony chapter!_**

**_Thank you for all reviews and for reading!_**

**_I am not JKR, not even a little bit, would be nice though._**

Chapter fourteen

**Letters, Pictures and Inhibitions**

Teddy glanced up as the owls all swooped in, covering his orange juice from droppings and random beaks. He smiled when he saw the familiar black body of moonbeam flying down towards him. The owl landed in front of his plate and ruffled his feathers, eyeing the food on Teddy's plate. He undid the rather thicker than usual scroll from the out stretched leg and removed his hand from his goblet so the owl could take a drink. Orange juice was Moony's favorite.

"Who's it from?" Ollie asked though a mouthful of egg.

Teddy glanced at the writing and smiled, "It looks like it is a bit from everyone." He said.

Victoire sat down beside him and looked over his arm, reading it for herself, he didn't mind, he let her have at it. It wasn't as if he had anything to hide from her afterall. The letter started with James' messy scrawl.

_Teddy,_

_Guess what! You will never believe what we got to do! Dad and Mum let me and Albie and Lils stay with Uncle D and Aunt Cora and Parker for Halloween. We got to celebrate like muggles It was so much fun. ,muggle candy. It doesn't do a whole bunch of cool stuff like uncle George's candy or like Honeydukes but man does it taste good, and I can't get in trouble if Lily eats any of it, can you say bonus! Anyways we all dressed up like crazy muggle stuff, I went as a futbol player, so did Parks, Al went as Superman, (Do you remember those old muggle comics you used to read?) and Lily went as, can you guess? That's right a ballerina, who ever would have thought. I put a picture in that that mum took of us all. Can't wait for you to come home, I will save you some candy. Well I will try at any rate. Have fun, try not to get in anymore trouble, I don't know what you did a few weeks ago that made Dad come to the school but he was pissed when he came home. So was uncle Bill. You didn't bruise Vic again did you? Because you know she is a girl, I know hard to believe but she is. He locked himself in the office with Uncle Bill for hours and silenced the room. I hate to be you when you come home. Good luck mate._

_James_

He glanced at Victoire upon reading the last line, her eyebrows were furrowed together.

"Well that doesn't sound good for me does it?" she said lightly.

He shook his head, knowing that what James had thought was him getting in trouble, had actually been Victoire's run in with Gavin.

"No, Vic, no it does not. Though on a side note, did you know you were a girl?" He replied to her chuckle.

He pulled out the picture quickly and smiled at the moving image from just a couple of weeks before. James and Parker were indeed dressed as matching futbol players, one holding a black and white futbol grinning like mad. Albus was standing with his hands on each of his hips wearing a stretchy blue and red outfit and cape that Teddy actually did remember from muggle stories from his childhood. Lily stood in the front, her hands in the air, she was wearing a blue tutu that was bright enough to rival Teddy's hair, a matching strappy top and sparkly shoes.

"You have the cutest little bothers and sister ever." Victoire said with a grin. "I especially like Al's cape and his pose." She giggled.

"They are so silly." Teddy said, shaking his head and handing the picture off the Ollie so he could finish the letter. It continued with Al's straight, firm writing. At nine years old he still found it necessary to use all capitals, something that baffled Teddy.

**TED,**

**I KNOW JAMES TOLD YOU ABOUT TRICK OR TREATING, I READ IT, WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. I CAN NOT WAIT FOR YOU TO COME HOME. BUT ONE THING, COULD YOU KNICK ME A SNITCH FROM SCHOOL? I WANT TO START PRACTICING WITH A HOGWARTS GRADE SNITCH, THEY ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE PRACTICE ONES YOU CAN BUY. DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THAT WITHOUT GETTING A DETENTION? IF NOT, DO YOU MIND GETTING A DETENTION TO GET ME ONE? THANK YOU! **

**AL**

Victoire was laughing as she finished Al's portion of the letter.

"Did your little brother just ask you to get a detention for him?" she giggled.

"He did. He actually did." Teddy said, not sure if he was stunned or inspired by the lack of concern for school rules Albus had shown.

He finished off with Lily's portion, pulling out another picture without looking at it, he handed it to Victoire who burst out laughing, followed by Ollie and Tarryn. He brushed it off, deciding to read what schemes the six year old had gotten up to before looking at it.

**_Teddy,_**

**_Hi! I miss you. I luv you. Can we du yur nals and hare win you com hom? I sent a picter so yu don't forgit me. _**

**_Luv lily_**

He smiled at her spelling, this was the first letter she had actually sent him. He was rather proud of it.

"Teddy, did you even look at this?" Victoire said, giggling like mad.

He shook his head and held out his hand, to his surprise, before handing it back Ollie made a copy of the photo and pocketed it, a maniacal smile on his face as he held out the oridinal. Teddy looked at the picture and his face went white. It was a photo from their vacation this summer. Teddy was wearing his blue and green board shorts and was standing by their private pool at their rented beach house, his turquoise hair was tied up in bows and he was holding a ruffly swimsuit clad Lily on his shoulders, both of them smiling happily, though admittedly, photo Teddy did look a bit embarrassed to be on camera, and they we1re holding out matching nails. James and Al were standing to the side, James had Al in a head lock. And the pair of them were laughing, completely blissfully carefree to the fact that their own messy black locks were tied up in a random, colorful array of ribbons and bows. Teddy shook his head in dismay, he couldn't believe he had passed it off before looking at it, he would never here the end of this.

"This, is the best thing that has ever happened to me." Tarryn said happily.

"I can't believe you all let that little dynamo do that." Ollie said, laughing.

"Mmmhhhmmm, because I have never walked in on you playing make up with your little sisters. Perfectly Pink is definitely your color." Teddy grumbled, much to Tarryn's delight and Ollie's dismay.

"I think it is sweet that you play with her." Victoire said, fingering his hair that was short and spikey today.

He smiled thankfully at her before pulling the second sheet of parchment from the back of the first.

**_Teddy,_**

**_The kids made us promise not to read their letter so I hope that you read it alone without anyone around just in case. Especially considering the picture Lily included. We hope school is going well and wanted to wish you luck on the quidditch match Saturday. Stay out of trouble and, while we are certainly proud of you, if you could refrain from hitting the new head boy that would be wonderful. Neville told us they were appointing the Hufflepuff prefect, I am sure that there will be no more problems, right? Though I will admit, things have seemed quiet on the Hogwarts front for several weeks. I am so proud._**

**_Give Victoire and all of your cousins love from us. And again, please behave. We love you._**

**_Dad and Mum._**

Victoire pointed at the second to last line.

"DO I not rank as one of your cousins anymore?" she asked, slightly concerned.

Teddy laughed and kissed her cheek without really thinking about it.

"I would certainly hope not." He said with a smile.

0o0o0o0o0o

The Slytherin/Gryffindor game was about as smooth for the Gryffindor team as it could get. Tarryn and Adam had only gotten better since last year, and rather effectively dismantled the other side's chasers. Which was a very good thing as the only thing Teddy could say for his new chaser Max was that he knew how to fly without falling off his Commet Epic Rage broomstick. Well, at least he didn't fall off often. They won the match by a hundred points, Rhyan coming through in the end and making an awesome catch of the snitch. And Teddy didn't miss the extra hug that Ollie gave her at the after party. He smiled ruefully at his friend, wondering if he should ask about that or not.

It was getting late, he was suspecting that Neville would be up at some point in the near future to shut down the party, then again, while Neville never showed it in class, he was rather anti-slytherin. He was taking as sip of punch, which he was certain had been tampered with, when Victoire bounded up to him, her silky blonde hair whipping about. He couldn't help but smile at her in her happy state, not to mention her muggle attire, he loved her in muggle clothes. She was wearing a pair of tight, artfully faded jeans that had been tucked into heeled black knee high boots, and a stretchy, long sleeved black shirt.

"Hey! She said happily, bouncing a bit back and forth from foot to foot.

"Hi." He said with a grin.

"Dance with me." She demanded.

"I can't dance." He replied slowly, "You know that."

"I don't care, I want to dance. Pahleahse!" she whined.

He laughed as she tugged at the faded Gryffindor shirt he wore, pulling it away from his chest and stomach, leaving it hanging over the waistband of his dark denim jeans.

"I will embarrass you." He protested as she succeeded to pull him to his feet. "No one else wants to dance with the prettiest fifth year in the room?" he asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him.

"Do you want me to dance with someone else?" she asked, her mouth quirked into a grin as the music turned slow and she seemed to melt into his arms, he pulled her against him and let his face lean into her hair.

"No, I suppose I don't." he admitted.

She giggled happily, "I didn't think so." She kissed him lightly on the lips and blushed furiously.

"I think you have been drinking the punch." He whispered, nodding towards the bowl.

"And if I have?" she challenged, batting her eyelashes.

"Well, you are at least aware that you just kissed me in front of our whole house right? I thought we were taking things slow?" he said, not minding in the least that she had kissed him. He let his fingers trace along the bare skin above the back of her jeans where her shirt had slid up slightly.

"Hey, I could be tearing your clothes off and snogging you on that sofa in front of them." She said with a shrug.

"There is that." He said with a huge smile, "I like that option."

She laughed gleefully. It made him feel lightheaded. "Besides, I am not drunk, or tipsy really, maybe slightly uninhibited." She laid her head on his shoulder and behind the cover of her hair kissed his jaw line.

"Mmmhhmmm, I like uninhibited Victoire." He mumbled, turning on the spot.

"I just thought you might." She said with a grin.

"Vic, have you ever drank before?" he asked curiously, pretty sure he knew the answer.

"Well, unless you count one glass of wine in France when we have dinner with my grand-mere, no. In fact, I didn't realize I was even drinking until my third cup. Tarryn didn't tell me what was in it when he gave it to me. I only had one more after that." She kissed the corner of his lips. He grinned and gripped the back of her jeans.

"Yeah, you are dancing with no one else. I am going to flog Tarryn and I think you might be a hair above uninhibited. Honestly, do you like making certain I have detention every summer? Because the way you keep me in trouble I am going to end up there again…Your dad is going to kill us if you get caught."

"Well, I guess it depends on what we do to get you grounded." She said, biting her lower lip.

"You are going to be the death of me you know that?"

"But you love me for it." She said with a flirtatious smile.

He laughed, feeling suddenly giddy himself, "You have no idea." He said, his lips against the side of her face.

"Oi, since we all won, do we all get this treatment?" Tarryn asked, sidling up to Teddy and Victoire.

"You are going to get some kind of treatment for giving her alchohol." Teddy said murderously under his breath, making Victoire giggle insatiably.

"Meh, I think you'll thank me for it later." Tarryn said with a wink, tossing his ear length brown hair to the side.

Teddy laughed before smacking him in the back of the head. "I'll thank you for the workout I am gonna get, beating your ass across the damn pitch more like. Go dance with someone, and no more handing out punch to the lower years!"

"I would just like to point out that she is a fifth year. Not my fault that her birthday falls late, she is not an underyear, I have it charmed so no one under fifth year can drink it. And I have a girlfriend, who is not in our house, which means, no dancing with girls at house parties. Make sure you tell your cousin that I was behaving myself, alright?" he said with a grin. "As for the whipping my ass all over the pitch, if you think you can do it, I invite you to try oh Cap-e-tan." And he sauntered off, back to the music and the punch.

Teddy shook his head. "None of you respect me at all." He moped.

Victoire, still in the throws of giggles, ran her fingers down his cheek, "I don't need to respect you for what I want."

His mouth dropped to his chest, flabbergasted at her forwardness when she was tipsy. He didn't even know what to say in response, his body responded accordingly, his brain however was finding it hard to catch up.

"Teddy, earth to Teddy. Did you have the punch too?" she joked, he shivered as she ran her fingers down his spine.

"Actually, yes, but not enough to affect me. You do know that you are pretty much outing us to our house right?" he affirmed.

"I have been thinking about it for the last five weeks. And it doesn't matter that they know how we feel. Or what they think about it. What do they matter anyways? You are the only one that matters, I am not going to be dating any of them in the foreseeable future." She shrugged.

He smiled. "But you will be dating me in the foreseeable future?"

"I would certainly like to think so, but, either way, we did add that clause to the wait and see decision."

His heart flipped in his chest. "You make such excellent points tonight. I am impressed."

"I always make excellent points, if you want to go upstairs I can punctuate them for you." She was biting her lip again, and they had stopped dancing, they were now standing still in the middle of the common room.

"Just to be clear, you have been thinking about this before tonight? This isn't just the punch talking?"

"Oh I think we can be sure it is the punch talking, but I thought of the words long before tonight, I just didn't say them."

He looked at her nervously, warring with himself.

"Teddy, last time we snogged, I was perfectly sober, I have wanted to do it ever since. Punch or no punch. And I don't like the way some of the girls flirt with you since you and Rhyan ended it. This is the only way to stop it, and it is rather fun for us both I think. SO, stop being so bloody moral, kiss me back, right now, and then take me and snog me senseless." She stomped her foot on the ground.

He didn't need telling again as he grabbed her belt loops and pulled her against his lips.


	15. Chapter 15: Home For The Holidays

**_Have I ever mentioned that I love Teddy?_**

**_Because I do, I really do._**

**_Thank you for reading and reviewing :)_**

Chapter Fifteen

** Home For The Holidays**

As the end of December blew in Teddy wasn't sure what he and Victoire were. They had not made the leap to dating, well not with words. Though if you asked anyone in the castle they would tell you that they were. What he could tell you, was that they were getting ready to go home for break, and he needed a break, from classes, desperately. He hadn't realized how much the upswing in work would be with NEWTS, he was nearly wishing that he hadn't chose to continue on with all subjects, however, he wanted to be an Unspeakable. He knew, that to even be considered in the department of mysteries you were required a minimum of nine NEWTS and they had to include, Arithmancy, Runes, Potions, Astronomy, Defense and Charms. He had added History of Magic, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology, giving him ten. He was hoping for the extra course to give him an edge. He was outright exhausted. Seriously, he felt like he was going to drop from the course load. And even with all of that, it was rare for the department to even fill spaces with students straight out of school.

He and Vic had recently been seen doing nothing but studying. He needed top grades to get into that department and he had to apply in July. It took a year of trials, and tests during breaks and then even if you passed those, you still had to achieve your NEWTS. Adding to that you were required to submit a four foot essay on your preferred area of study if you ever actually entered the department. He was starting to regret his choice for a career. But, they were going home tomorrow for an entire fortnight. Yes, they had revision to do, yes, he still had a lot of it left, but he would not be sitting in classes at least. And, at home, he could weasel his family into helping. Defense was always a softspot for his dad, he was always willing to throw in an idea, his mum, and Uncle Ron were good for that one too. He could count on Uncle Bill for Charms, Charlie for Creatures, George, surprisingly enough, for potions, and anything else he could volunteer to shadow Aunt Hermione and Uncle Percy for the day. His revision would be covered after a family dinner or two and a day at the ministry, which would also give him a chance to try and catch a glimpse of the Department of Mysteries, though doing so out of sight of his father was another thing all together. Harry was a bit touchy about that place. He wondered idly if he should warn him of what his future plans were.

Before he had fully made up his mind, the days seemed to slip by, and he was stepping off the train behind Dom and Roxxy. Vitctoire was somewhere behind them as she was doing prefect duties and assisting in reminding all of the underyears when they had to be back on the train for the new term. He had her bag thrown over one shoulder and his in his hand, his lightningbolt gripped tightly in the other. He was undeniably thankful that they never took their full trunks home for the Christmas, Easter, and anniversary breaks. There was no need as they had most everything they needed at home already. As he approached their family he noticed that Bill, Percy and his own dad were there for this pick up.

"Roxxy, you are with me little girl." Harry said, motioning Roxxy over to himself. Teddy saw her shoulders lift, she had obviously been nervous without seeing her parents there.

After Harry let go of his niece he reached for Teddy. He allowed his dad to hug him, smiling as he smacked him lightly on the back. Bill was standing beside Harry so he pulled Victoire's bag from his shoulder and held it out to him once Bill had finished hugging Louis and Dom.

"It's Vic's." he mumbled as Bill took the bag. "She was doing prefect stuff."

Bill smiled and nodded as Victoire bounded up behind him. To Teddy's surprise she hugged him tightly from behind and kissed his cheek, he felt his mouth drop and his face turn red.

"Thank you for carrying my things." She said, before hugging her father, who was eyeing Teddy speculatively over her shoulder.

Teddy shuffled his feet, praying his father would just take him home already.

"We will see you tomorrow for dinner." Harry said after hugging Victoire and taking Roxxy's bag from her.

"We are having dinner tomorrow?" Teddy asked as he made his way to the SUV.

"Tomorrow is your grandparent's wedding anniversary. We are all meeting at The round table in London." Harry replied as he put the bags in the back.

"That is a really fancy restaurant." Teddy grimaced. He hated wearing dress robes.

"It is, and you have no dress robes that fit, Angie says you don't either Rox so the three of us are going to diagon alley before we go the manor."

Teddy turned around in his seat and smiled as he watched his little cousin wrinkle her nose in distaste.

"Do I have to wear dress robes?" she asked, a slight whine to her voice.

"Sorry kiddo, eleven and up are in dress robes. I hate them too." Harry commiserated, Teddy laughed.

"So Freddie doesn't have to wear them!" she said, indignant. Teddy was watching her in his mirror and continued to laugh.

"Sorry sweetie. But if it makes you smile, Teddy gets to get James Al and Lily ready for the dinner all by himself." Harry said with a grin.

"What!" Teddy spluttered as Harry made a turn onto the main road.

"Your mum has a deadline and is getting ready for the dinner at Hermione and Ron's since it is so close to the restaurant. I don't get out of the ministry until twenty minutes before dinner so I am going to get ready there and meet you. I think you can handle the three of them though. Just don't show up with painted nails and bows in your hair."

Teddy grumbled under his breath at the joke as Roxxy laughed from the backseat.

It didn't take long to find robes for Roxxy and Teddy, it was made easier as both of them hated to shop and picked the first thing that fit them right. Though Harry was accustomed enough with Angie's taste that he made certain that Roxxy's outfit did not clash with her orangey red hair. Leaving her with a pretty periwinkle set of floaty robes. Knowing his hair would be black for the dinner Teddy chose a set of deep red robes that had a low collar and a black dress shirt and tie. The seams at the collar and the cuffs were edged in black, Harry had been the one to actually pick them out. After shopping they dropped Roxxy off at the shop with George to play with Fred in the back room and headed back through the Leaky Cauldron and to their car so they could take it home.

"So, I need to talk to you about something." Teddy recognized the reservations in his dad's voice.

"I have not done anything, I promise. And I don't have a girlfriend so there will be no need for quidditch talk. " He defended.

"That isn't what I mean, though I am glad hear you haven't been in trouble. And Miss Victoire looked a little more comfortable than friend, but that isn't what I wanted to talk about." You couldn't miss the seriousness in Harry's voice.

"Oh, alright then."

"It's about Paddy."

"What about him?" Teddy had turned to look out of the window, thinking about the huge once solid black, now salt and peppered dog.

"He, well, he is 16 years old. It will be 16 years on Christmas since I got him."

Teddy nodded, knowing that Paddy was intended to be a gift for Harry but had ended up being Teddy's dog.

"Ted, he isn't doing well, he is old."

Teddy flipped his head to look at his father, his mouth in a firm frown. "He will be fine." He said.

"Teddy, he isn't going to be fine. He doesn't move, he doesn't even try to go out anymore. He hasn't been fine for weeks, I didn't want to tell you in a letter."

Teddy crossed his arms and hugged himself, his mind set. "He is fine."

Harry sighed, glancing over at his upset 16 year old, this was to be expected, Teddy and Paddy had grown up together after all. He himself was having a hard time, not to mention trying to walk the younger kids through it. He was already worried that James was never going to be the same. He knew Teddy was going to react badly. Even worse than James.

"Son."

"No, he is fine. He will be fine. You don't know everything you know, he is going to be fine."

"I had Hagrid come see him."

"So what. He doesn't know everything either."

This situation was deteriorating rapidly. Harry remained silent as they pulled into the long drive of Potter Manor, letting Teddy's attitude go, he knew fear and sorrow when he saw it. He wasn't certain what Teddy was going to do when he actually saw the dog in question. Paddy hadn't moved much in the last week, choosing to stay on his dog bed and not eat or drink anything. He watched rather helplessly as Teddy got out of the car and headed into the already subdued house.

As Teddy walked in he glanced around himself. His dad was wrong, he had to be. However he couldn't ignore the fact that no barks or jumping, slobbering dogs had greeted him. He walked up the stairs to the sitting room. The kids, including Parker, were sitting watching a program on the Telly.

"Teddy!" Al yelled, jumping up and wrapping his arms around him. Teddy lifted him and squeezed him tight, he couldn't believe how much bigger Al seemed in just the four months.

"Heya short stuff." He said before whispering into his ear. "I have something for you in my bag. Why don't you take it to my room and pull it out? Don't let it get loose in the house" he hissed in warning.

Albus' face lit up like a firework in the middle of the night He wrapped his arms around Teddy's neck and kissed his cheek before jumping down and running down the hall. Teddy smiled slightly before picking Lily up next and kissing her pink cheek.

"Hey baby girl." He said, hoisting her higher. "You are getting heavy, who told you that you were allowed to go and get big on me?"

She giggled happily, "Did Vic make me the markers?" she asked with a grin.

"She sure did, I think that Molly helped her make them. I tried them out, they each flash four different colors. Al is already in my bag, why don't you go get them?"

"YAY!" she squealed jumping down and running off after her older brother.

"Hey Parks." He said.

Parker glanced up from the book he was reading for a second but looked right back down. He was a rather quiet kid. "Hey Teddy." He said.

Teddy took a seat beside James who looked miserable, he pulled him over into a one armed hug and held him there. "Are you reading anything fun?"

Parker didn't look up. "The theory of charms."

Teddy looked at James, who rolled his eyes and leaned his head against Teddy's shoulder. "You seem down." He muttered, so only James could hear.

James shrugged.

Teddy sighed, he had always been close to James, perhaps it was that they were the two oldest, maybe it was that James was the one that taught Teddy how to be a big brother. No matter the reason, they had always understood each other.

"Dad says Paddy is sick." He mumbled into the brown black hair. As James had gotten older his hair had lightened some. It was nearly black but it was a shade lighter than Al's, he seemed to have brown and reddish highlights in it naturally. It amazed Teddy that James had managed to get the cool color without even trying.

"He isn't good." James said shortly. Teddy knew that not much got James down, so when he was obviously distressed, something was very wrong.

"I don't like this." Teddy grumbled.

"Join the club." James snapped.

Knowing that James was just upset, he didn't let the attitude affect him, he kept his arm around his younger brother and let his gaze drift to the telly, not really watching. They stayed that way until Ginny came into the room, taking the seat on Teddy's other side and pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his own brownish hair.

"Hey baby. How was the train?" she asked.

"It was good. Would have been better had Tarryn not been all over his girlfriend and had Ollie refrained from snogging my ex girlfriend in front of me, but, it was alright."

Ginny's eyebrows rose as she thought about Teddy's predicament. "Ollie is dating your ex?"

"Yeah, Rhyan." He muttered, trying not to think about Paddy, but not wanting to think about Ollie with his tongue down Rhyan's throat either.

"Does he know it upsets you? When did you break up with Rhyan?"

"Uhm, we broke up a few weeks into term. It doesn't really bother me, we ended on good enough terms. I am alright with them dating, it is just weird."

"Can I ask who Tarryn is dating?" Ginny asked curiously, grinning when she saw James roll his eyes.

"You can ask, but I can't tell you." Teddy said, his cheeks turning pink.

"Oh, so I know her?" Ginny wheedled.

"Er…You might." Teddy hedged.

"Do I get to know who you are dating?" she asked with the same rotten grin, she was obviously trying to get both boys to smile, James was shaking his head and Teddy was more embarrassed than put in a good mood,

"Uhm, I am not dating anyone." He said honestly, blushing slightly.

"Hmmm. You may as well tell me, I can get to snitch on you."

Teddy laughed out loud. "Good luck with that mum."

James looked at him seriously, "Remind when I get a girlfriend to never come home again."

0o0o

That night after dinner, Ginny, Lily and Al were playing a made up card game with exploding snap cards, Jamie was in the shower and Harry realized that Teddy was missing. Harry walked from the sitting room looking for the eldest child in his brood. It was in situations where a child had mysteriously disappeared that Potter manor was far too big for Harry's liking. He had exhausted the entire second floor and was in the kitchen when he heard a whimper and a soft voice from the scullery. He silently cursed himself for not thinking about going to Paddy in the first place. Teddy had avoided the poor dog all day since coming home. Harry stood against the door frame silently, trying not to intrude on the moment, but to be in sight, he wasn't wanting to eavesdrop. When Teddy noticed him he would go all the way in.

"And so I kissed her. And then I got the mickey taken out of me for the rest of the week for it. We aren't dating though. We haven't really talked about it. We aren't dating anyone else though either. You are the only one in the family that knows so if you could keep it to yourself, that would be great."

Harry smirked to himself at Teddy's choice of conversation.

"You have to get better Pads, you can't be sick, prove them wrong, please. I have never wanted anything like I want this." His face was buried in the dog's furry back.

Harry heard a sniff and decided it was going to be up to him to make his own presence known. He walked forward and placed his hand on Teddy's shoulder blade. Teddy jolted in surprise but didn't lift his head, he knew his father's touch.

"I can levitate him to your room if you want." Harry said, kneeling beside the pair.

Teddy nodded and sat back on the heels of his feet.

"He can't die, James will be heartbroken if he does." Teddy said softly.

"He will be. All of us will be. Your brothers and sister have never lived without him. And I know that you don't remember life without him. It is hard for me to remember it."

"I can't use magic to clean up after him if he is in my room." Teddy worried.

"Ted, he hasn't made it outside for a week as it is. We will clean it up, I promise. Do you want him upstairs?"

Teddy nodded and stood, watching solemnly as his dog was levitated upstairs.


	16. Chapter 16: A Time For Everthing

**_Happy Birthday mellarkable5678_**

**_I told you I would try and get the update up for you :)_**

**_Though I can't say I will be able to get AGG up too…_**

**_But I will try._**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Sixteen

**A Time For Everthing**

When Ginny peeked in to check on James the next morning before she left for the prophet's quidditch offices she frowned at his empty bed. Noticing Teddy's door open across the hall she poked her head in. There sprawled across the front side of the bed, leaving Teddy to be pushed against the wall, was James. His hand was dangling off the bed, resting on Paddy's back. Smiling lightly at the pair she crept out of the room and gently pulled the door closed.

"Jamie is in bed with Teddy. I guess Teddy is more comforting than us."

Harry smiled and hugged her in understanding, "Think about it love, whenever something bad happened to you, who made you feel the best, your parents who don't understand teenagers, or your brothers who did? You know how it is Gin, at his age, Teddy is everything to him, like Bill was for you."

"I know, I am glad they get each other like they do. These next couple days are going to be really bad aren't they?"

Harry sighed, "It is definitely going to be one of the bad parenting experiences of our lives I think."

"Are they going to be alright today and getting to the dinner tonight do you think?"

"I think so, the boys only have to wear dress pants and button downs, both say they are wearing black and red to match Teddy so I don't think we need to worry about them. Lily has plenty of dresses to pick from and the chauffeured car will be here thirty minutes before the reservations. They will be fine, we went over it all last night." Harry assured her as he pocketed his wand and followed her to the fireplace.

"What if he dies while we are gone" she worried.

"Teddy would let us know, or I suspect Bill would, I would bet my last galleon that Teddy will call Victoire if that happens."

"I won't take that bet, simply because I would lose." She said before kissing him goodbye and throwing the glittering dust into the grate.

0o0o0o

Teddy was very proud of his progress with the kids that day, he had managed to have fun, make them all shower, or in Lily's case take a bath. They were dressed and ready and he had gotten ahold of the magical car service and asked to be picked up an hour early so they could go pick up a Christmas gift from diagon Alley for each of their parents, he even grabbed one for Victoire. He was especially proud of the fact that they had managed to get three gifts, let Lily pick out a new doll, and let Al and James look around quality quidditch supplies and in all that time they only had to pose for three pictures. He thought it would have been less but they were all dressed in smart clothes. James was wearing a tan pair of dress slacks and a black button down shirt with a red tie, his red sport coat thrown carelessly over his arm. Teddy was certain that the girls of Hogwarts were doomed once James actually started to notice them. Al was happily in black slacks, a deep red button down and a black tie, while Teddy wore his new red and black dress robes, though he had left them unbuttoned, showing his sleek black pants and button down shirt with his own black tie. Since they had to cut through muggle London quite a bit, Teddy's hair was as black as Al's though he had added the touch of James' natural brown and red highlights to it. If one didn't know better you would think the three of them were actually siblings, especially as Teddy was boasting Harry's green eyes as he normally did. They may have escaped photos completely but Lily had chosen her own outfit and Teddy had to admit, she was incredibly cute, if not as dressy as she should have been. She was wearing thick white leotard panty hose with a shimmery white shirt, her purple glittery tutu matched the purple bow Teddy had fastened in her hair. That was another thing he was proud of, he had fixed Lily's hair all on his own, though he had used one of his mum's curling solutions in it to make it fall in ringlets. He had then, miraculously, pulled it into a high ponytail, placing the bow in front and letting the curls fall all over. He thought she might just be the cutest thing he had ever seen.

Needless to say, Lily's cute factor, with the three of them dressed to the nines, they did attract a bit of attention, though Teddy had managed to deflect it all well. They had now made their way back to the car that was waiting just outside of the Leaky Cauldron and it seemed as if they would make it to the dinner right on time.

Teddy held Lily's hand as they made their way into the fancy wizarding restaurant. He walked to the podium at the front and smiled nervously at the young witch. She was a few years older than him, maybe five or so, her hair was shoulder length and a medium blonde color. She was quite pretty. She flashed him a sympathetic smile.

"I am sorry sir, you must be accompanied by a parent if you are underage. And I doubt these three are yours." The young woman said, eyeing him appreciatively.

"Oh, uhm, right, they aren't. They are my brothers and sister, our parents are here actually. I don't know where but..." He stammered looking around. "I think they have a room reserved, under Weasley maybe?"

"I am sorry, that is a closed room, you can only get in with one of the names on this list." She said checking her list apologetically.

"But that is where our parents are…Both of them…Our entire family in fact. I-I don't know what to do." He said, turning to James.

James smiled his easy, perfect grin, even on a ten year old it melted your heart a bit. "Please could you let us though, if we don't get in there our dad is going to freak. And he is fairly powerful, we don't really want to end up grounded. We happen to be running just a few minutes late." James said charmingly.

"I guess I could have someone go in and get your parent. Who did you say they were?"

Teddy nodded, grinning at James. Seriously, the girls were doomed, "Just get our dad he should be sufficient."

"And who should I ask for?"

"Oh, sorry," Teddy said, he was used to people just knowing who they were, especially with Al with them. "Harry Potter."

The girl squeaked slightly. "Your dad is Harry Potter?"

"Uhm, yeah." Teddy replied, James, Al and Lily all looked at her with blank stares, they still didn't quite understand the hype about their parents.

"Oh, just, just come through and I will see you all in." she said hurriedly.

James looked up at Teddy his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Teddy shook his head and pointed for Al and James to lead before he hoisted Lily into his arms and followed into the Lancelot room on the second floor. He watched as she tapped her wand on the door of the private dining room and opened it, ushering Al and Jamie in, Teddy let her go in first before stepping in behind her and pulling the door closed.

"There you four are!" came Harry's voice. Alright so they might have been a bit more than a few minutes late.

Teddy turned to the young woman, "Thank you so much, I know that just bringing us up here was against protocol." He muttered as he sat Lily down so she could run to Harry.

"Anytime, really it was no problem at all, in fact, it was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Potter." She said before flipping her hair from her shoulder and batting her eyelashes.

Before Teddy knew quite what was happening a pair of arms had wrapped around him and pulled him into a hug, his face was blocked by silky silvery blonde hair. He felt his cheek sting slightly as her lips pressed to his cheek.

"It took you forever, I saved you a seat." Came Victoire's tinkling voice.

He blinked twice and smiled down at her he forgot the other witch was even standing there. Victoire looked incredible. She was wearing dress robes in a vibrant pink, which unbeknownst to him his hair flashed briefly, pink crystals hung in tear drops from her ears.

"Thank you for seeing that they got to us." Victoire said politely, the possessiveness in her voice barely noticeable, then again, Teddy didn't hear the chuckle or the murmurs running around the room either so it may have been more noticeable than he thought.

"Yeah, right, for bringing me to her." He stammered, still lost in the ice blue pools of Victoire's eyes.

He didn't hear if the other girl responded, he instead, willingly followed Victoire to a pair of seats across from Dom and Molly. Lucy was sitting to Vic's right and he took the seat to her left. James sat beside him and Freddie quickly took the seat across from James. He was still staring rather intently at Victoire when he heard his mum settling Lily into the seat beside of Hugo.

"Lily that is not the fancy dress we talked about." She chastised.

"I know but Teddy says I look perfect." She gushed. Teddy grinned hugely. He loved his little sister, even if she was convinced they were going to get married one day. "And, he did my hair, all by himself, and the camera guy that saw us at quality quidditch supply said he had never seen someone so cute on a Firestorm." She said proudly.

"Lily! That was a secret!" came Al's furious reply.

"Shit." James muttered, shaking his head. Teddy couldn't help but agree.

"Camera man? What were you doing in diagon alley?" Harry demanded, Teddy knew the question was directed at him.

He looked up and smiled slightly. "We were getting. Uhm. We didn't floo, we just had the car come early, and we only ended up with three pictures, it didn't get out of hand I promise." He said.

"Really dad, it was way calmer than when you and mum are with us, without you two, most people didn't recognize us." James added.

"We were really good, I even held Teddy's hand in the alley." Al boasted. "Honest, they even got a picture of it." He said, in dismay.

"Yeah, and I held his hand too and helped pick out yours and mums Christmas presents and really sparkley necklace for someone from Teddy, but he wouldn't tell us who."

"LILY!" coursed the three boys.

Teddy heard Victoire giggle beside him. And soon the adults all joined in. So much for a Christmas surprise.

"Really, we did fine, they all listened really well, and I figured that since I am just a few months shy of seventeen it wouldn't be a big deal if I took them out. No one bothered us, I swear. I think it helped that Lily has that Weasley red hair and Uncle George's shop was so close to where we were." Teddy said.

"It is fine. We trust you with them at home, we trust you with them in public. You are a good older brother Teddy, there is no denying that." Ginny said as she kissed him on the cheek, leaving a second lipstick print her wake.

The rest of the dinner passed smoothly enough. Teddy talked animatedly with Victoire and the older cousins, James and Freddie joining in from time to time, though they mostly carried on their own conversation with Al, Rose, and Louis. Roxxy and Dom, sat together laughing and telling secrets to one another, they were incredibly close and being in separate houses, and different years, they desperately missed each other at school. Lily and Hugo giggled and told silly jokes back and forth while the adults all talked around them. Proposing toasts to Molly and Arthur and joking that Bill's birthday was coming up rather soon. All in all the evening had turned out fun. And even if he hated dressing in these ridiculous robes, that he conveniently had never buttoned all the way back up, it had been worth it to see Victoire in her robes. When the night ended Harry and Ginny accompanied the kids in the chauffeured car and they all headed home.

0o0o0o0

Harry opened his eyes and looked blearily around. It couldn't be morning, it was still very dark. But something had woke him up. He grabbed his glasses from the side table and sat up, looking at his watch that lay on the side table. He knew it was Christmas morning and all, but if those kids were up he was going to hex them. It was just after three in the morning. As he sat the watch down a sting in his chest sent a jolt through him. What in the hell was that about? Suddenly their bedroom door slammed open and a frantic looking James stood there. Sobbing so hard that he could barely speak.

"Dad. Dad. You have- You have to come." He heaved.

And instantly, Harry understood the sting, Teddy was devastated and that could mean only one thing.

Teddy had been sleeping when Paddy had started making a strange sound. He sat up and looked over to under the window to where he had moved the dog bed, wanting Paddy to be able to see outside. Paddy was shaking violently. Teddy had practically fallen out of bed, tangled in his blankets and James, who had taken up sleeping with him. He knew he had stepped on James' side and arm in his attempt to get to the dog. James yelped and sat up. Looking around himself in a panic.

Teddy made it to the dog, he was shaking, froth coming from his mouth. His heart was in his throat, he could feel it beating its way through.

"What do I do? What do I do?!" James cried, gripping his face with his nails, even in the dark Teddy could see the fingernail marks taking up residence on his cheeks and under his eyes.

He spoke in a would be calm voice. "Go get Dad Jamie, just go get dad."

James looked back at the dog, he seemed paralyzed with shock.

"JAMIE GO GET DAD!" Teddy yelled, losing any illusion of control as James ran from the room.

He placed his hand in the scruff of the dog's neck, trying to hold him still. "You have to stop, you have to stop. Please Pads please you have to stop." He choked.

He was doing everything in his power not to cry when Harry flew through the door, followed closely by Ginny who was muttering a silencing spell over the room as she did so. Teddy understood, she was trying to protect Al and Lily from this. She was holding James round the middle, he looked like he had collapsed in on himself and he was hysterical. He watched Harry place his hands on Paddy, he looked up into the startling green eyes of his father and was stunned to see them swimming with tears. He felt the dog still under his own hands while he was still looking up at Harry. He looked down at him and shook his head, removing his strong hands from the dog's fur. That was Teddy's undoing, he fell forward onto his oldest friend.

"No, No! You have to do something, he isn't dead! You have to do something!" he yelled, shaking the dog.

"Daddy please, fix him, you can fix him!" James screamed. Teddy couldn't even turn to look at him, if he had reverted to using the term Daddy he was past hysterical, James hadn't called Harry daddy since before he was 8.

"I-I can't, I can't fix him, there is no spell that can reawaken the dead." Harry said, his voice shaky.

"HE'S NOT DEAD!" Teddy demanded. "You are Harry Potter, you defeated Voldemort, please! You can fix him, if you love me you will fix him."

His face buried in the fur, he felt his hands be pulled away from the dog and he was pulled into his dad's unescapable arms. "Teddy I can't fix him. He is gone son." Harry said gently. "There is nothing I can do. He is already gone."

"No, no, no, no. He can't be, he can't be gone."

"Let me go. LET ME GO!" he heard James scream from behind him. Seconds later he felt Harry let him go slightly and then the weight of his little brother in his lap, their father's arms wrapped tightly around them both.

"You have to fix it. I know you can, you can do anything." James cried. Teddy felt the hot tears on his bare chest.

"I can't fix this Jamie." Harry said softly. Teddy tightened his grip on the ten year old as he sobbed against his chest. Teddy felt his own tears drip into James' hair.

"But it's Christmas. Please, please dad, mum, do something." James cried.

Ginny was beyond words, her own sobs could be heard when James quieted. Harry was beside himself, between trying to calm the boys and trying to come to terms with the fact that this had been his puppy, named for his Godfather, and he was now gone. Once Ginny sat beside Teddy, leaning against his side they sat there for over an hour, saying nothing, listening as James cried himself out and fell asleep on his brother's lap. Harry moved slightly when he registered James' rhythmic breathing.

"I need to move him son." he croaked, his voice was scratchy.

Teddy rubbed his raw cheek against his shoulder before Harry could move completely away, and he braced himself to be holding all of James' weight.

"Here, I will levitate him to his room." Ginny said, pointing her wand at James.

Teddy let his hands fall away from him as he slipped out of his grasp. Once he was free Teddy slid on his bum so his back was against the wall, and watched Harry lift the huge dog into his arms, barely staggering at all under the weight and carry him from the room.

0o0o0o0o0o

The sun had begun to set. Teddy had not left his room, not for food, not for presents, not even when Harry had come to tell him that they were supposed to go to the burrow. He stayed, in the same green fleece pants with no shirt, leaned against the wall, staring at the place he had last seen his dog. He hadn't gone back to sleep. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't believe this had happened. He couldn't believe Paddy had left him.

James had come in and sat silently with him for a bit, Al had come and laid with his head against Teddy's shoulder, falling asleep eventually that afternoon. Lily had come in several times, trying to coax him from the room, but even her puffy, pink face and tear stricken eyes couldn't break through the wall he had created. When he heard his door open he didn't look up, assuming it was one of the kids, or his mum or dad trying to convince him to come eat something, anything. So when he felt a hand, that could only be Victoire's, brush through his tangled blonde curls he was surprised enough to speak.

"What are you doing here?" his voice sounded like he had swallowed sandpaper.

"I am here to see you. Aunt Ginny brought the littles to Gramma's, James hid in the shed with Sirius' old bike the entire time. He didn't even talk to Freddie."

"Dad didn't go?"

"No, Aunt Ginny said he stayed here with you. I asked if I could come see you. No one had a problem with it, so here I am."

He didn't say anything, he turned his stare back to the window. She slid down the wall and pushed her arm behind him, he allowed her to pull him into her arms.

"You know he loved you right? And that you gave him a really good life." She murmured into his ear.

"This shouldn't have happened." He replied, silently begging his eyes to stop tearing. He stared at the swirling grain in the dark wood floor. Willing them into submission.

"Yes it should have. It is life, Teddy. He had a good one. You loved him, you took care of him. He loved you back and then, it was his time. It can't be stopped. It was his time. Everyone has a time."

"That is bullshit." He rallied.

She ran her fingers over the heated skin on the back of his neck, she kissed the back of his head.

"No it isn't, it is true."

They were silent for a few minutes, the shocking pink and orange swirls that were disappearing behind the ominously dark snow clouds capturing Teddy's attention for a moment.

"I hate it." He was hoping she didn't feel his tear hit her wrist as he watched it fall.

"I know. So do I."

"I loved him." He said, his voice a pathetic whimper. "My whole life I loved him."

"He loved you too. Very much."

"I feel all alone."

"You shouldn't. Because I love you too." She whispered against his ear.

0o0o0o0o

It was nearing midnight and Harry, nor Ginny, had heard any sounds from Teddy's room. He peeked his head in cautiously, seeing them sitting in the same place Teddy had been all day. Only now Victoire was there. She was asleep, her back against the wall and her head tilted back. Teddy was laying with his head in her lap, his face buried in her stomach and his arms wrapped around her waist, the telltale tracks of tears still scorched onto his face. Harry smiled slightly as he felt Ginny's arms wrap around his own waist and her face bury into his back.

"Shall I call my brother and tell him we are keeping Victoire?" she whispered, trying not to wake the pair.

"I will go over, I will go over and talk to him. We need to figure out some ground rules for this pair." Harry said with a sigh. "He will still be up waiting for her anyways."

"Should we wake them and get them into beds do you think?"

"I think that given the circumstances, that they will be fine for the night. Nor do I think they would willingly move anywhere." He said, remembering shortly after the war and Ginny sleeping in his bed, refusing to be removed from him.

"Why the nostalgic face?" she asked, kissing his cheek as they partially closed the door.

"They just remind me of a couple of kids I once knew." He said with a full smile.

She stopped and pulled him towards her, hugging him closely. "Really? Who?"

He kissed her lips softly and pushed her vibrant hair from her deep brown eyes, it was like falling for her all over again everytime he looked into them. "Us."


	17. Chapter 17: A Thousand Words

**_I just realized how long of a story this is going to be. _**

**_It is going to follow until Lily graduates…_**

**_It is already nearing 50,000 words…_**

**_I hope you are all in for the long haul_**

**_b/c I am writing it straight through_**

**_No sequels just straight through._**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Seventeen

**A Thousand Words**

Teddy felt terrible the next morning, like he was sick and numb all together. Through the achy, tired feelings that laced his body, a grumbling sound permeated his head. He was undeniably hungry. He tried to stretch but found that his arms were wrapped around something. He peeked his eyes open and discovered they were actually wrapped around someone. Victoire, to be precise. He tried to sit up without waking her, but as they were completely intertwined it was rather impossible.

"Fancy seeing you here this morning." He said with a grin.

She looked around herself warily. "Oh shit, we must have fallen asleep. How much trouble do you think we will be in for sleeping together in your room?" she asked, stretching her arms above her head.

He stood and held out his hands to help her up. "If I had to guess, I would say that one of my parents came in and checked on us and decided to leave us here."

She took his hands and pulled herself to a stand, ending up encircled in his arms. She felt him place one hand on her lower back and he pushed her messy hair from her eyes.

"You are absolutely beautiful, have I ever told you that?"

She cuddled into his bare chest and felt his arms hold her tightly. "I blame it on the Veela in me." She mumbled.

"You shouldn't. It is every single bit, just you. You are beautiful, no matter what is a part of you." He kissed her lightly on the lips. She was blushing furiously, he loved it when she blushed. "Thank you Vic. I am glad you were here."

"I promised you, from now on, I will always be here."

0o0o0o0o0

Teddy was sitting on a stool at the counter, they were due to leave for the train station in an hour. He could hear the kids playing around upstairs while they were getting dressed. He was completely ready to go back, if a little apprehensive. With everything that had gone on, anniversary dinners, Christmas, Paddy's death and burial, and then trying to hurry and finish up his revision, with a heavy amount of help from his random family members, he had never talked to his mum and dad about his career choice. So, when they came into the kitchen together hand in hand, he was both relieved and scared at the same time.

"All ready?" Ginny asked, as she grabbed a slice of leftover toast off of the plate on the counter.

"Yup." Teddy confirmed. He watched as his dad sat on the stool next to him, and propped his cheek up on his fist.

"We wanted to talk to you." He said simply.

"Er, there is something I needed to talk to you about too." Teddy said, looking at his fingers. "But you can go first."

"Well, it's about what we talked about last anniversary…and Vic." Harry said, scrunching his nose. "I talked to Bill and…"

"WHAT! Why would you do that?" Teddy spluttered.

"Erm, because we weren't sure about what restrictions we needed to have with the two of you being best friends for your whole lives until now." Ginny said as if it was obvious. "They are talking to her too."

"But-But- we aren't even dating."

"What?" Harry said incredulously.

"We aren't. Not at all. She isn't my girlfriend. And-and- well we aren't playing quidditch either. I told you, I don't have a girlfriend!" he blurted.

"Oh, well. Are you sure?" Harry said, unconvinced..

Ginny snickered and nearly slipped off her stool.

"I like to think I would know." Teddy replied dryly.

"Right, I would like to think that is something you would know too." Ginny added. "So since our conversation was ridiculously unwarranted, what did you want to talk about?" Teddy could tell she was trying to quickly change the subject, he had never been more thankful.

He suddenly got nervous and went back to studying his knuckles. "It is about when I graduate."

"Oh. Really?" Harry perked up. Teddy had been completely closed-lipped about his future for the past year or so.

"You look terrified." Ginny observed, flipping her hair over her shoulder and looking at him intensely.

"I don't think you are going to be thrilled with my choice."

"Son, we left school and got married immediately, we don't exactly have a lot of room for judgment." Harry pointed out.

"I-I-Iwannabeanunspeakableforthed epartmentofmysteries." He said in one quick breath.

"I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that." Ginny said, a slight grin playing on her face.

"Come again?" Harry had said at the same moment.

"I want to apply to be an unspeakable for the department of mysteries." Teddy huffed.

He watched as Harry's face drained of most color and as Ginny bit her bottom lip.

"That is a very hard position to get, especially right out of school. Most people they take on are already masters in a specific field and are in their mid to late twenties, people my age." Said Ginny.

Teddy shrugged. "I know. I am taking more NEWTS than they require and I am passing all of them. Most with an O Herbology and Astronomy don't count, though I have an E in both. I am working my broomtail off, and I am quidditch captain, which goes to extra-curricular activities. I have though a lot about this. I don't want to do anything else." He seemed slightly panicked, as if he was begging for their approval.

"That is, it can be, a very dangerous place." Harry added simply.

"Because the auror offices aren't?" Teddy quickly challenged.

He saw his mum grin out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, the offices themselves? No, they aren't dangerous. But that asided." Harry responded.

"Look, I don't know why you don't like it there. I don't know why you don't talk about it, and I am not asking. That is your life, your stories. But this is mine. I really, really want to do this. Even if I fail at it, I am going to try."

Ginny reached across the counter and placed her hand on his cheek. "You are brilliant, I don't think you will fail at it. I just want you to understand how much work it will be."

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Why are you only, just now telling us? You must have been thinking this for a while if you chose your NEWTS for this reason." He opened his eyes and met Teddy's, which were a few shades lighter green than his own.

Teddy shrugged in reply. "I was going to talk to you at the beginning of break, but so much happened that I didn't get to. Then I decided to wait because this way, I am leaving soon, it gives you time to think about it, and it doesn't give you too long to yell about it."

Ginny had actually laughed out loud at the blatant honesty, even Harry smirked.

"Teddy, as much as I hate the idea of any of my kids being in that place, I won't stop you. It is what you want to do. It is your choice. If you told me you wanted to go to Transylvania and hunt Vampires I might would argue about it for a bit, but in the end I would support you. I will always support what you choose to do." He said, before patting him on the back twice. "Now, let's get everything together and get you to that train station."

Teddy nodded, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"MUM! Albie took my shirt I wanted to wear." James yelled from upstairs.

Al's voice was soon to follow. "Did not! I don't even fit in his shirts!"

"Yeah because you are a scrawny git." James retorted.

"MUM!" They both yelled in unison. Ginny sighed and headed up to their rooms.

Harry turned and his smile faltered. "So no Victoire?"

Teddy shook his head. "No, and I can't believe you did that." He grumbled.

"I am sure that she got a much bigger earful than you did. After all Bill and Fleur are still a bit hung up on the trouble earlier this year."

"I wish they would let that go. It isn't as if she doesn't feel worse about it than they do. She is the one that nearly got attacked. It isn't exactly fair to punish her for picking the wrong guy." Teddy sighed.

"What about being punished for putting herself in a dangerous and compromising situation?" Harry countered.

"Well I guess you would have to ask yourself if you, or even Uncle Bill in this case, was punished for every dangerous or compromising situation you ever put yourselves in." he retorted simply.

Harry had to recover himself, it was never a good thing to let your kid know that they had made a valid point. "But you have to make wise decisions Teddy, you can't go around with your eyes closed and your heart on your sleeve." He wanted to hit himself, he had sounded just like Snape.

Teddy narrowed his eyes. "I think I would rather her walk around hopelessly, ignorantly in love than be cynical and guarded. Not only is that not who Victoire is, that would ruin the person that she is. That isn't what you taught us to be. In fact I remember more than once being told that love is a strong magic in its own right."

"I-I-I did say that." Harry floundered.

Teddy smiled slightly. "And, I have realized in the last few weeks, stupid or not. That, that one decision has made Vic grow. She is different and she is perfect for it. Her choices are hers, just like mine are mine and as long as we can live with the consequences than you guys should be able to do it too."

Harry looked astounded. "Damn, I am going to have to play this memory back for your uncle. You make a lot more sense than I do."

0o0o0o0o0o

The train was bouncing along towards their second term, Teddy was sucking on a sugar quill and looking at his Transfiguration essay when the door opened to admit Victoire.

"Hey princess." Ollie said affectionately.

She stuck out her tongue, the same response he had received for the last 10 or so years, ever since he had known her at any rate.

"Hey." She squished her way between Tarryn and Teddy, much to Lucy's amusement.

"Hey." Teddy said with a timid smile.

Victoire was not known for being shy, when she wanted to talk about something she tended to jump right in. "Did your mum and dad talk to you about us?"

Teddy nodded, Tarryn, Ollie, Lucy and Rhyan just looked between the two, rather stunned that they would have this conversation in front of them all.

"This morning." He cringed at the memory. "I told them it was pointless, we weren't dating. I am not sure they believed me, they asked if I was sure." He rolled his eyes as she laughed.

"I told my dad the same, though I know he didn't believe me."

"Who are you two kidding?" Ollie said, exasperated

"Uh...HUH?" both Teddy and Victoire said together, each with a look of mingled confusion on their face.

"I said, who are you kidding? Ask anyone in the castle and they will tell you that the two of you are dating."

"Well, that may be, but they would be wrong." Teddy said with a shrug and a glance at Victoire.

"You two practically snogged in the middle of the common room." Tarryn pointed out.

"I was drinking, if you'll remember." Victoire stated.

"HEY!" Teddy said, obviously distressed by her resoning.

"Not that drinking was the only reason I did it." She clarified, her face turning pink.

"Oh yes, because that is the reaction you expect from one who is not dating the other." Lucy giggled, twirling a strand of her orangey red hair.

"We said we weren't dating. We did not say we weren't talking about it." Teddy qualified.

"Right." Ollie deadpanned.

"So, hypothetically speaking, if the two of you aren't dating each other, are you dating other people?" Tarryn asked. "Because if so, the seventh year, Blake, he likes Vic."

"NO." they both said, though no one missed the way Teddy pulled Victoire closer to him.

Everyone watching laughed. "Yeah, because that doesn't speak a thousand words." Rhyan said, rolling her eyes.


	18. Chapter 18: Of Detention, Silk and Eyes

**_Sorry Guys, _**

**_My computer has a virus so I can only update when I get access to it._**

**_Hopefully this won't be for long._**

**_So to make you all feel better about life,_**

**_How about an extra long, extra special update?_**

**_Ok Maybe not that long but it is worth it!_**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Eighteen

**Of Detentions, Silk and Eyes**

"Mr. Lupin, are you paying attention in the slightest?" Professor Greyson barked, causing Teddy to jump about a mile out of his skin.

"What, yes, yes sir." He stuttered, his eyes snapping to the front of the room.

"Then you will be happy to recite the laws of human transfiguration to me." He said.

"I'm sorry. What?" Teddy said without thinking. He really had been completely spaced out.

"I don't think I need to repeat myself." The tall, broad wizard said, folding his arms over his chest.

Teddy cringed, they really could have made Greyson the defense professor, he was certainly domineering enough. He glanced over at Tarryn who was in the seat beside him, and then to Ollie who was sharing a desk with Rhyan.

"Uhm..." he looked down at his book which was open to where they had begun the class, frantically searching for something that sounded reasonable. He still had no clue what had been asked. "Er…Elemental Human Transfiguration?" he whimpered.

He knew by Ollie's stricken face and Tarryn's groan that he couldn't have been more wrong. He took the chance and glanced up at the professor. He did not look happy. He strode over and handed him a small piece of parchment.

"Take this to your head of house, this is the fourth time in two weeks I have had to bring you round to attention. It will be 15 points from Gryffindor as well." He said scathingly.

Teddy rose and shook his ear length purple hair from his face, holding back a huff of contempt as he did so. What did Greyson know? It wasn't like he had any idea of what was going through Teddy's head. He forced himself not to snatch the note from his professor's hand and turned, leaving the classroom behind. He wondered briefly where Neville would be, out of habit he followed the familiar walk to the greenhouses, it may have been a good thing, that walk always calmed him down. He arrived outside of Greenhouse 1 and peeked inside, he had gotten lucky beyond belief, Neville was talking to a class of first year Ravenclaws and Slytherins. He tentatively stepped inside and leant against the glass door, he didn't want to interrupt after all. It didn't take long for his presence to be noticed.

"Something I can help you with Teddy?" Neville asked, halting his speech on the wolfsbane plant and its usage in potions.

Teddy held up the note in his hand in reply. The parchment was quickly summoned from his hand and his professor was reading it in seconds. Neville audibly sighed and shook his head.

"Greenhouse four if you will. While you wait put some heating charms on the Poisonous Pansies if you will." He said simply.

Teddy nodded and walked back into the cold and the short distance to the smaller greenhouse. This building was much smaller than any of the others, it could only accommodate around 15 students at any time, which was probably a good thing since only NEWT students were permitted inside. He walked over the huge brown clay pots and began heating them, watching as the small purple flowers shifted and squirmed as they thawed out. This was work he could handle, it was mindless, something he could easily do. He was on the second to last pot when the door slid open and the man who was nearly an uncle to him began to speak.

"So, do you want to tell me what is going on inside that multi colored head of yours?"

Teddy shrugged and pointed his wand at the final pot.

"So would you rather I guess what is going on with you, or should I just attempt occlumency then?"

"I would rather just not talk about any of it, get my punishment, and go back to class." Even Teddy was stunned with the attitude in his voice.

"Well, if that's so. Detention, every night for the next week, three hours a night, yes I know it is a Friday and this means you will lose your weekend nights. 10 points from Gryffindor."

"Gryeson already took points." Teddy interrupted.

"Well I am taking more." Neville said firmly. "And I am writing to your parents. I think that will be sufficient. Be in this greenhouse tonight at seven, you can go." He finished.

Teddy looked at him, his eyebrows raised. "That's it?" he said, skeptically.

"Unless you changed your mind on talking to me about what is really going on, yes we are done."

"Al…Alright." He said, stumbling over his words. "I'll go then?" he said uncertainly.

Neville nodded and handed him a new parchment. "Give that to Cal. I wouldn't want you back here in twenty minutes."

"Uhm, who?" Teddy asked, glancing at the note in his hands.

"Cal Hampton? Your defense professor…used to be an auror with your father? Where is your head at son?"

"Oh…Right, I have defense next." Teddy said aloud.

He stopped walking when he felt Neville's hand on his shoulder. "Look Ted. I remember being sixteen. I know you don't want to talk to your old professor, or your dad's friend for that matter. But if something is bothering you, well I'm always here, even if you just need to commandeer my fire to call Harry. Merlin knows we don't need another Garroting gas incident."

"A what incident?" Teddy asked, his interest suddenly piqued.

Neville chuckled, "Your dad needed to get to a fireplace illegally in our fifth year, your mum came up with the plan and it did not end well. Let's just say, should you need a fireplace, just ask me."

"What happened?"

Neville frowned, "Well, it is a really long story but it involved Umbridge, getting caught, a near cuciatus curse, some blood, centaurs, a giant, thestrals, the department of mysteries, death eaters, the order and the death of Sirius."

Teddy just gaped at him. "I'll make sure I just ask for the fire, rather than that story."

Neville chuckled "It would probably be better that way. I meant what I said. If you change your mind, you know where I am."

Teddy nodded.

"Be here at seven." Neville called to him as he walked back into greenhouse 1 where Teddy could hear the boisterous voices of the first year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

"Yes sir." Teddy replied before trudging up the snow covered hillside.

0o0o0o0o

He was fairly certain that his hands were frozen. The greenhouses were cold on a normal winter's day, but there was a reason that the students didn't have herbology at night. He thought he might just have frostbite after adding new layers of sod to the sproutlings to increase their warmth. When he heard the door open.

"I'm working, I promise." He said, not looking up from the current pot he was working at.

"While I am glad you are taking your detention seriously, I would rather it if you took at bit of a break." Victoire said smugly.

Teddy turned and smiled for what may have been the first real time in a week. "Hey." He breathed.

She walked purposefully towards him and pulled him to her by the hem of his shirt. "You sir, have been very elusive since we got back." she pressed her lips to his softly, as if she was a bit fearful of his reaction.

"Mmm." He moaned into her lips before pulling back and letting his hands lay on her small waist, he leaned against the dirty shelf behind him. "I assure you, it is nothing to do with you. I would much rather be with you, than here. Well than anywhere honestly."

She smiled happily, appeased that there was nothing going on in his head that concerned their status, or lack thereof. "I hear you have been getting into trouble. And I know you have had your fair share of detentions over the last fortnight."

He nodded solemnly. "You heard right. I feel like I didn't even take a break. And I need to get at least a draft of this essay written so that I can revise it and get it sent in, it has to have four professor's signatures of recommendation, and two of them have to write letters since I am applying before my NEWTS. Add in homework and quidditch, I think I may be losing my mind."

"Don't forget the detentions." She smirked.

He laughed and pulled her against him "Now how could I ever forget about those?" he pressed his lips firmly against hers. "I did have something to ask you."

"And what might that be?" she asked coyly.

"Hogsmede is on Valentine's day. Will you come with me?"

The pink quickly rushed up her face. "You know that is three weeks away right?"

He nodded. "I don't want you to get snatched up before I get to ask."

"You don't need to worry about that." She stated firmly.

He was currently running his hand down her side softly. "And why is that?" he asked, all thoughts of his work forgotten.

"Well, I wouldn't say yes to anyone but you."

He just stared into her crystalline blue eyes.

"So I was thinking, tonight is a Friday. And you don't have quidditch until noon tomorrow." She whispered suggestively, pulling at the back of his cloak.

"Whatever you are thinking, I am all yours." He said, willing to agree to anything when she had her lips that close to his ear.

"Sleepover in the room of requirement. I will meet you there after 10:00, and wait inside for you. Just come straight there from here, I will get some food from the kitchens."

She kissed him again, this one longer and more suggestive, her entire body pressed against his. She pulled back gently and he let his hands fall from her hips and back, down to the front of his thighs, he rubbed them furiously against his jeans.

"I will see you in an hour." She said, walking out of the greenhouse, Teddy's eyes trailing after her.

Fifteen minutes later Neville came in and took a seat on a place where a pot once presumably sat.

"You seem to have finished the pots that I assigned you already."

Teddy shrugged and leant against the largest pot on the shelf across from his professor.

"It didn't take long. It wasn't overly difficult, I did rewarm the pansies for you." He said, pointing to the smaller pots.

"I think you can go ahead and go Ted. We will just say you were here the whole time." "

"Are you sure?"

"Yup, you did all of the work and some extra that I asked of you." I think you can go.

"Alright. But…Are you sure? I won't have to make up the last 45 minutes tomorrow or something, will I?"

Neville laughed and clapped him on the back, "No, you won't have to make it up. On my word."

"Did-Did you talk to my parents already" he asked scuffing his feet.

"I did, I don't think you need to worry about them. They are more worried about what is upsetting you than the trouble you're getting into. Granted your dad is a close run with his own father and godfather for most detentions ever served so I am pretty sure that unless you end up in front of a tribunal, you are in the clear. Now mind you, he has been there too so they might would take that in stride too."

Teddy smiled brilliantly, "I think that's the best thing about being the son of Harry Potter, not that he is a hero, or powerful or famous, but he has been in so much trouble himself he pretty much overlooks most of the trouble anyone else finds."

"I think as long as you don't go pelting mandrakes at kids again, you will be alright." Neville smiled in response. "Now, go on, you will be here tomorrow night too, no need staying longer than necessary,"

Teddy knew when he had been dismissed and when to take his good luck and run with it. He walked calmly out of the chilly greenhouse and then sprinted for the castle. Without really thinking about it he went straight for the room of requirement. Upon arriving in the deserted corridor he glanced at his watch it was almost 10:00 Vic should be in there already though he was earlier than either of them had thought. Not caring if he was early or not he paced three times, thinking of his bedroom. Nothing happened. He tried again but this time Victoire flashed through his head, a rounded door appeared. He looked at it suspiciously and went through. It squelched shut instantly behind him.

He looked around. It looked like he was standing in a smaller version of his own dorm room, with a sofa, a crackling fire, a doorway to the back and a double sized bed hung with Gryffindor hangings to the right. Standing, looking rather stunned to see him was Victoire. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and she was wearing cottony striped pajama pants with a worn Harpies long sleeved shirt. Without stalling he pulled his cloak off and threw it to the floor. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. He couldn't even begin to pretend that he hadn't missed spending time with her in the last few weeks.

"You are early, I'm not ready." She mumbled against his lips as he pressed kisses onto her.

"You are fine, perfect actually, I can't think of any way you could be better." He breathed in between pecks.

"I raided your dorm. I thought you might want some clean clothes, and a shower. You know, after mucking about in sod and dragon dung."

He raised his eyebrows. "You went through my clothes?"

She flushed slightly. "Well, not really. Technically I bribed a very stubborn Ollie to do it. He made the bag, and grumbled the whole time about it." She handed him a small bag.

"You know, we could have arranged time to meet after I took a shower."

She smiled and pushed her hand through his hair. "Eh, I figure you didn't much want to walk through the castle in your night clothes. Which are what is in there. I told him to get night clothes and your quidditch practice stuff."

"I am to take it we won't be seen until quidditch tomorrow?"

"That's the plan." She kissed his cheek, and wrinkled her nose. "And that's the bathroom." She pointed to the door he noticed earlier. "You smell like Herbology, not at all the Teddy I am used to.

"Alright, I can take the hint. Gimme ten minutes." He said with a flash of a grin and he headed for the bathroom door.

Luckily, for her, he took twenty five minutes to get showered and dressed. The extra fifteen was spent cursing his best friend as he searched through his bag. He poked his head out of the door and his mouth dropped slightly, she was wearing a pair of tight pink yoga pants and an equally tight, black stringy top, her hair was now laying loose in a smooth, sleek tumble and he could tell by the soft rosy glow on her cheeks that she had put on a bit of make up.

"You, you are stunning." She smiled and the flush grew in her cheeks.

"Are you not coming out?" she asked as he still hadn't come round the corner.

"How would you feel about running back to my dorm?" he asked.

"Not thrilled about it, why?"

"My supposed best friend, the one that didn't want to pack that bag? Yeah, he didn't put any pajama pants in here. I have my practice uniform, and underwear." He said ruefully.

She covered her mouth with her hands as she burst into laughter, finally understanding the bright red of his hair, which was often a sign of embarrassment.

"Don't laugh." He growled, though he couldn't conceal his own smile.

"I have seen you shirtless you know." She giggled.

Even his neck blushed in response, which was rare with his always tanned complexion, something he did without thinking about and that she envied him for. "I have a shirt, but I also, only have boxers." He muttered.

"I have seen you in swim trunks too." She said, as if that settled things.

"Vic, this is a bit different."

"I don't want to go back to the tower, it is almost a quarter of eleven and I just want to spend time with you. I promise, it will be fine." She said in a pleading voice.

"But… Come on Vic it is my underwear." He whined.

She held back her laughter. "You have seen me without any top on at all, not even a bra. In the arms of a guy no less." She said rather bluntly.

He scowled. "I try to block out that particular memory." He huffed.

"What? Me topless?" she replied, feigning hurt.

He glared at her in response, knowing she was trying to get a rise out of him. "NO, that is not what I meant and you know it."

"Come on Ted. I am not going back there, so unless you are walking there in your underpants you are either spending the night in there or you are going to wear what you have, out here, with me."

He poked his head back behind the door for a few minutes before sticking it back out, she could see the stark white V of his undershirt this time.

"I am only doing this because I have had a really lousy couple of weeks, and don't want to waste any more time. And because I don't want to hear Ollie go on about this and take the mickey on me for it for the next two hours." He grumbled.

She grinned as he stepped out from the door way. "Do you want me to close my eyes?" she asked teasingly. She was unable to not look at him as he walked towards her, the white V neck contrasting with the tan, toned skin along the top of his chest, the arms of the shirt were tight against his muscles, and the waist slid against his abdomen as he walked. Even seeing him shirtless a few times recently, she hadn't entirely noticed how much he had changed in the last two years, how many muscles quidditch and training had wrought. His teal green boxers were slung low on his hips in effort to make them longer, it only succeeded in making them more appealing.

"You know. That wasn't an invitation for you to take the mickey instead." He said as he made his way to where she stood, rather dumbfounded. "You are staring." He said when he reached her.

She nodded as she put her hands on his waist, "And you are too far away." She said softly, grabbing the side of the green material and tugged. It slipped against his skin, bringing him, stepping quickly with it.

He squeaked slightly, making her laugh. "They aren't trousers Vic, you can't pull em like that, they don't have anything under them and they slip off easily, a slight design flaw you might call it."

"Flaw you say, ingenious I say, you know po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

He laughed in response as he swallowed a lump in his throat, she was running her finger on the waistband over his hip.

"They are very soft."

"mmmhhhmmmm. These ones are silk." He said absentmindedly, he was wondering if she knew quite what she was doing to him. If she didn't stop, it was going to be obvious. He squirmed under her hand, seeming to understand she stepped away with her hands on her hips.

"Why pray tell, do you need and have silk boxers?" she asked, a mystified expression on her face.

He was still rather pink from the whole experience, so if he blushed, she couldn't tell it, because he already was. Though his hair had finally settled into a dusty blue.

"Because after a quidditch match and practice and being on a broomstick for hours at a time sometimes you just, erm…need something soft?" he tried to explain. She dissolved into giggles at his embarrassment.

He rolled his eyes at her reaction, and decided a change of subject was in order. "So why are we not in my room?" he asked randomly, searching for the first topic that fell on his mind.

She frowned slightly and turned, sitting on the bed. He followed her, he was pretty certain he had never been this nervous in a bedroom with her before. He was about a foot away from her when she answered. "I thought that after everything that has happened recently, that first night, the talks and Paddy and just well everything, that we could use a fresh view for the night." She shrugged.

He smiled at her thoughtfulness and closed the gap between them. He stood with his legs on either side of her knees and leaned down, pressing a kiss into her hair. "How is it that I have just showered and you still smell so much better than I ever could?"

"I think you are supposed to like the way I smell. I always like the way you smell." She said without really thinking about it.

"Except when I smell like Herbology." He joked, pulling her face up to look at his own.

She lost her train of thought when their eyes met. Both of them held ill concealed emotions lurking just inside behind the surface. She watched in awe for a moment as the piercing green transformed to a silvery gray. "I love it when I can see your eyes change."

He smiled before climbing up on the bed, his knees now along the sides of her hips, she scooted back a bit, making her feet dangle off the ground, he was sitting up on his knees, none of his weight against her, not touching her with any, thing but the insides of his calves, knees and lower thighs.

"Did they change?" he asked.

She nodded. "To gray."

"That is their real color." He admitted.

She snorted, "I know. I have known you for my whole life, I know the color of your eyes." She watched in pleasure as his eyes shifted to match her own glacial blue.

"I know yours too." He said.

The lower, softer tone made her stomach muscles clench in nervous anticipation. "I like your color better." She said breathlessly.

"Which one?" he chuckled softly leaning so his forehead was resting against hers.

"Your real one." She watched in awe as the blue melded into the steely gray. She hadn't quite recovered when he kissed her, pulling all of the breath from her body. When he pulled away after only a few minutes she was confused. He sat back on his heels and looked at her seriously.

"I love you Vic." He said, he sounded like he had been surprised at himself.

She giggled and leaned forward to peck his lips. "I know, you have been telling me as long as I can remember."

He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her back, gripping the back of her shirt in his hands. "No, I mean I really, truly love you. I am so in love with you."


	19. Chapter 19: Big Steps, Big Questions

**_So there was an error in an earlier chapter. _**

**_Rory and Kent are actually the same person._**

**_His name is Rory Kent. He was a seventh year _**

**_And was the Gryffindor Keeper._**

**_This is our Gryffindor Team as it stands right now_**

_Teddy-Chaser 6th year (captain)_

_Ollie-Chaser 6th year_

_Max- Chaser 4th year_

_Tarryn-Beater 6th year_

_Adam- Beater 7th year_

_Logan- Keeper 4th year_

_Rhyan- Seeker 5th year_

**_Sorry for any confusion, I am going to go back and fix it :)_**

Chapter Nineteen

**Big Steps, Big Questions**

She couldn't take her eyes from his. That had been the last thing she had expected to hear. After all Teddy was infamous for NOT loving girls.

"I-I- What?" she stammered.

He smirked at her startled response, he had surprised himself too. "I do Vic, I love you. I have forever. And with everything else that has happened and all of the work I have to get done, I can't focus on any of it because all I can think about is how to tell you this. But I can't think of a good way, I have been trying to plan Valentine's since I found out that it was a Hogsmede Saturday. Trying to find a perfect way to explain it and I just-I." He stopped as she covered his mouth with her hand.

"You didn't have to find a perfect moment Teddy. And I love you too." She whispered before moving her hand.

His brilliant smile caught her more of guard than his statement had, if that was possible. His following kiss pushed all thoughts from her head. His hand went to the back of her head as he lowered her back, his lips working fiercely against her own. Somewhere in the back of both of their mind's they registered that this was a new territory for either of them. But that got lost in translation, somewhere between him crushing his lips against hers and her back hitting the bed everything that didn't involve snogging flew straight out of their heads.

His knees settled on either side of her hips, he was using his elbows to hold himself up and off of her. When she slid her hands under his fitted shirt and up his back he moaned into the kiss. It sent a ripple of shock through her, she felt the goose bumps rise on her arms and shoulders, they were intensified when he noticed and leant his face down, kissing the hollow of her collarbone, making her whimper in response. He pulled back and sat up on his knees, leaving her frowning at the space between them.

"Are you cold?" he asked, his voice husky as he rand a finger down her bare arm, causing her to shiver.

She shook her head and leaned up on her elbows.

"Your shivering to the contrary." He said with a smirk.

"It has nothing to do with being cold. Of that I can promise." She squirmed backwards so that he was no longer straddling her.

"You are really far away." He said, walking on his knees to get closer to her.

Without talking she grabbed his shirt by the hem and pulled it over his head, throwing it to the floor.

"This is hardly fair." He mumbled, looking down at his boxer clad body, as she pushed him by his shoulders and turned so that he was now on his back and she was straddling his waist.

"I can make it even." She said with a wicked smile as she pushed at waist of her pink pants and wiggled her hips, which spun Teddy's world right around, she kicked her legs one at a time, causing them to fall to the floor next to his discarded shirt.

He looked down at what he could see of her bright pink panties, they matched the pants she had on exactly. His hands dropped and hovered at her hips, he wasn't quite sure what he could touch and not touch.

"Breathe, Teddy." She said with a giggle.

He grinned a crooked grin, "I am trying, I really am." He managed to choke out.

She took his hands in hers and sat them over the sides of the swell of her hips. His fingers rested partially on her bum. He felt like he might suffocate.

"Honestly, they are boyshorts silly, they cover more than any swimsuit that I own."

"It is a BIG difference from any swimsuit, I can tell you that. And you don't tend to sit on me like this when we are in swimsuits, and my swimsuit, is not nearly this thin." He pointed out. "Nor are my trunks this short." He added.

"I can put the pants back on if you like." She teased, leaning up on her knees. He gripped her hips and pulled her back down atop of him.

"No, no, you are fine right here." He murmured before grabbing the low cut neckline of her top and pulling her down so her lips met his.

When she continued the kiss he released her shirt and returned his hand, allowing his fingers to trace the line of her panties between the small gap between them and her back. The fingers from his other hand were gripping her right thigh, holding her against him, he hadn't realized there was any space between them until she deepened their kiss and rocked herself into him. His brain went fuzzy, along with every nerve ending down his legs. Without thought his hands slipped to her backside as she repeated the motion. The next half hour passed unbelievably quickly, in a haze of wiggles, moans and whimpers. Her shirt was rolled up under her breasts and his boxers were riding incredibly low, the tendons in his groin showing. One of his hands was currently occupied with her breast, tracing its contours over the soft fabric of her shirt. The other was cupping the underside of her bum, she pressed harder against him, causing his boxers to slip a bit more, and making the satiny material of her panties rub against the base of his erection.

"Achmehehmem" he spluttered in a strangled voice, muffled by her mouth.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and unwillingly pushed her from his lips. He rolled her to his side suddenly, putting several inches between them. His skin was tingling at the distance and he was aching, literally at her departure. She looked at him, confused, and with unhidden hurt on her face.

"Unless you are ready to take this all the way, we have to stop for a minute. I have to stop." He panted.

She looked at him and bit her bottom lip, her chest rose and fell with her breaths. "If you want to I will." She said softly.

He shook his head, "Unh ugh, it doesn't work that way. I know your eyes Vic, I told you. It's alright, we'll wait. But I need a minute. Just talk to me."

"About what?"

"About anything." He said

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

He sighed as he wiggled over to his side so that he was facing her, he grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his lower half, pulling up his boxers and adjusting himself as he did so. "I didn't mean talk to me about that. You have nothing to be sorry for. That wasn't what tonight was about anyways, I really just wanted to spend time with you. Though, if I am honest with us both, I don't think I would trade that for anything."

He pushed the sweaty blonde hair from her forehead and face. "How are you cold?" she asked, eyeing the blanket that he had wrapped around himself.

He chuckled, raising his eyebrows, "I am not. Not even close, burning up actually."

She looked at him in for a moment, the unasked question dying on her lips when understanding washed over her. "Oh, OH! Right." She said, her entire face blushing.

He laughed and put his hand on the curve of her side, using his thumb to rub along her rib cage. He moved his face in front of hers, she could feel his breath on her lips. "Stay there. No moving, or wiggling, of any sort." He demanded.

She smirked as his request before he started a series of soft, intimate kisses. Several minutes later after their lips had stilled she found her voice again.

"Teddy, I mean it, we can. I mean, I was on top of you. I know you want to, it really isn't something that a blanket can hide."

He smiled sheepishly, "No, I guess it isn't. But I am not thick Victoire, I know you and I know me, and I know that we should wait. I don't want to mess this up." She wasn't certain he meant to say the last part out loud at all.

She laughed, laying her head on his arm. "I don't think that would mess us up. But…You are right. I am not ready. I still have trouble not thinking about bad things that happened… You know… When I think about going farther than we just did." She admitted quietly.

She felt him wince as he understood her meaning. He pulled her into his arms and held her close.

"Victoire I meant it when I said I loved you, and when you are ready you will know, and I will know, and you won't have those thoughts. And Merlin knows that is the LAST thing I want you thinking of in that moment."

"I feel bad." She barely whispered.

He kissed her head and held her tighter. "You shouldn't. I don't even know if I was ready for that." He said honestly.

0o0o0o

The next morning he woke with his face buried in an unfamiliar pillow, he smiled into it as the memories of the last few hours played through his mind. He was laying on his stomach and he could feel the weight of Victoire's head on the small of his back. There was no way he was going to succeed in getting up without waking her. He pulled his wrist to his face to look at his sport watch that he never took off, it was already a quarter till eleven, he had practice in less than an hour and a half. How had he slept so late? Knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable he rolled to the side, so that he was facing Victoire and her head lulled from his back to his side and eventually, his stomach.

He placed his hand in her tangled hair, her eyes fluttered opened and she groaned sleepily, they had talked until after four in the morning, he really shouldn't have been surprised that they slept straight through, he should be glad he woke up for practice at all.

"Hey beautiful girl." He said when she woke enough to look at him through narrowed eyes.

"Why are you waking me up?" she mumbled.

He chuckled and sat up, causing her to scowl more. "Because I have quidditch practice, and as captain, I can't miss it. I promise, if I had known I would have had the option of being here in bed with you, I never would have scheduled a practice. As it is, I need to take a shower, and I need to get ready."

"You just took a shower last night, let's go back to sleep for a half hour." She grumbled and closed her eyes.

He laughed. "No can do, someone caused me to get all sweaty last night, so I now have to have another shower."

She huffed and sat up, her shirt was still tucked and rolled, so it was showing an ample amount of her stomach and back. "Let me pee first, in that case."

She stood and stretched, giving him the first good, full on, full body, standing look, at her in her panties. They were indeed cut as shorts, but boasted very high cut legs and a low cut waist, he was fairly certain that seeing her shirt pushed up and the panties where they sat, well below her belly button, that any lower, and she needn't wear any at all. The sides were bunched into a little bow thing and when she turned to walk to the bathroom he nearly fell out of bed. He knew from his hands being back there, how much they showed, but he hadn't gotten a proper look and now that he had, he was quickly trying to remind himself the reasons they had stopped last night. But as she walked and her hips swayed in the scrap of bright pink he nearly came undone. It was lucky for his self control that she disappeared behind the bathroom door because it gave him time to collect himself. While she was behind closed doors he stood and stretched, took a minute to adjust things, which really didn't matter seeing as he was in only boxers, she was gorgeous, it was morning, and there really was no way to hide it.

She walked out and smiled, he had returned to sitting on the side of the bed. When she reached him he was still just staring at her, not completely over seeing her in panties and a rather revealing stretchy top. At least she had adjusted the shirt, he thought, as her tummy and lower back were not covered. Though, the verdict was still out on whether that was a good or bad thing. She scooted forward and stood between his knees. He said nothing, just put his hands on the bunched sides of the pink fabric. He did stiffen when she placed her knee on the small space of mattress right at the center of his legs. Fear of being accidentally kneed in the crotch, warring with wanting her to touch him anywhere, and definitely there, or no they weren't supposed to be wanting to do that…He was so confused. And when her knee was firmly planted and the top of her thigh was pressing against him, she slung her other leg over his so she was straddling his right leg. The heat from her settling high on his thigh.

"Are you sure you have to leave?" she asked, quite seductively.

"Are you trying to kill me woman?" he squeaked, not seductive at all or even composed in the least.

She giggled and kissed him, he responded instantly, gripping her tighter and feeling heat build low in his stomach. Damn it, he was going to miss practice, he thought briefly. Until she pressed forward, her leg rubbing him, he groaned deep in his throat and thought of nothing but her for some time after that.

0o0o0o0o0oo

"Damn it, shit, son of a bitch, sodding hell." He panted, running onto the quidditch pitch, still trying to do up his robes as he went. He skidded to a stop, slipping a bit on the icy turf, into the huddle of his team.

"Where in the bleeding hell have you been?" Adam asked, his lips quivering and his eyebrows arched.

Ollie had his arms around Rhyan and was laughing, knowingly.

"Mate, you are twenty minutes late and you couldn't find the time to do your hair? Or finish getting dressed?" Tarryn said with a grin, reaching out and touching Teddy's hair which was standing up on all ends. "Unusual color choice for you, are you trying to look like Vic's older brother or something."

They all laughed at the expression on his face.

"It's alright Ted, you pull off blonde well." Logan joked, much to Teddy's consternation.

Max just stood to the side, shivering slightly.

"You know, you could have been doing warm ups. Most of you have been on the squad for at least two years, it isn't like you don't know the drill." He grumbled as he wrestled with his robes.

Taking pity on him, Ollie stepped forward and straightened them out, fastening the shoulder pads in place.

"And miss the chance to rile you up? Never! Hope you were warm last night." He said in an undertone. Teddy glowered at him. "Alright guys, erm and girl, you heard him, on your brooms and in the air. Our captain will catch us up."

Teddy stifled a groan when he took off on his broom a few seconds later. He had really needed that cold shower that he didn't get to take. This was not a good situation to be sitting on a broom, he squirmed uncomfortably. He proceeded to let his beaters, and seeker, fly about, doing their own thing for the most part, while he worked his fellow chasers and keeper to their breaking point. It had two positives. Max and Logan were both new and needed the practice, they had a lot of improving still to do. And he ran Ollie until he was practically gasping for breath, a little well ordered pay back was always a worthy goal.

0o0oo0o0o

Valentine's was a week away. Today was quidditch, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Teddy was in the locker rooms with his team. He wasn't really one for speeches or pep talks. He knew his team, he knew their strengths and weaknesses. They had practiced hard as always, he had tried to beat some of the cockiness they had acquired after winning against Slytherin. He wasn't sure he had succeeded on that front.

"Hufflepuff aren't bad this year. We are going to have to fly better than we did against Slytherin, Lysander is a good chaser, I know, I have played against him nearly his whole life. And their keeper, Troy Wallace, is their captain, which means we know he is good. Not to mention we have played against him for three years. Their seeker is on the new firestorm lightning. It is fast, really fast. You are going to have to out fly him on sheer talent Ry because it outstrips the XT edition by a considerable amount, neither of us will be faster than him.

His team nodded, for the first time in weeks looking nervous. "But we have them beat on raw skill. So let's just go out there, and do what we do best."

The game had been underway for over two hours. Teddy was beyond frustrated. So far he and Ollie had each saved the quaffle after it had fallen from Max's hands twice each, and it had been intercepted three times by Lysander when neither, Ollie, or Teddy, had been close enough to grab it. Logan was holding up in the goals well, he had only let six through. Tarryn and Adam were rocketing around like two extra bludgers and had each stopped more than one intercepted pass or drop. Teddy wasn't prone to yelling but his tolerance was waning as the quaffle bounced off the ground as Max missed the pass.

"And that is another dropped pass by the new Gryffindor chaser. The current score is 60 to Hufflepuff and 70 to Gryffindor. And Lupin looks like he is going to knock his own teammate off his broom."

"What are you doing!" he demanded as he dodged a well aimed bludger.

Max bit his lip and gripped his broom tighter.

"I swear to Merlin if you drop another pass." He yelled, as instead of passing him the dark red ball he had just caught from Logan's throw, he jumped off his broom, and leapt clean over Max's head, landing back onto his own firestorm, quaffle still firmly in hand.

Max nearly fell off his broom in shock at the move. Which, was another sore point all together, as they had been doing it in practice for a solid month. Teddy rolled his eyes and shot off across the pitch to where Ollie was looping around the yellow clad beater. Knowing that if he passed it now it would be picked off he headed for the goals alone, swerving and weaving to throw off the chaser on his tail and hopefully their keeper. Just as he aimed something Gold shot in front of his face, he felt a fluttering across his cheek and he swiped his hand at it, batting it away. Just as he did Rhyan rocketed past him. Damn it, that was the snitch, he chastised himself. He glanced after her, seeing that the Hufflepuff seeker was diving fast from a several feet above all of them, he forced himself to focus on the golden hoops. Seeing Wallace distracted by screaming his seeker on, Teddy blasted the quaffle past him.

"And that's, she has the snitch! Only seconds after a final goal by Potter leaving our score at Gryffindor 230 and Hufflepuff 60. Making Gryffindor the front runners for the cup, as the only two win team so far this season, Gryffindor wins!"

Teddy grinned as the red and gold clad supporters poured over the barrier and onto the pitch. Roxxy had been the first to reach him and was clinging to his waist, hugging him tightly. Molly was bouncing up and down beside him. He was clapping Adam on the back with the arm that wasn't wrapped around his little cousin, when he felt a tug on his jersey. He turned, thinking at first that it was Victoire. He stopped his hug short when he saw Trinity, a dark skinned Ravenclaw girl from his year in front of him.

"Uhm, hi." He said, taken aback.

"Hey Teddy." she said with a smile. "That was a really good match."

"Thanks, it was way too close for comfort though." He said with a wry smile.

"It was neck and neck, even to the end."

He nodded. He wasn't sure what she was doing out here with all of his housemates. He glanced over her shoulder and saw his mum and dad close behind her, making their way towards him. She looked behind herself and saw them approaching, Victoire by their side.

"I know you have some celebrating to do and family to greet. But I was just wondering, would you like to go with me to Hogsmede next Saturday."

He nearly choked, as it was, Ollie, who was standing beside him waiting patiently to say something, had burst into a coughing fit. Roxxy was looking at her, stunned and Molly's mouth was open. His eyes met Victoire's blue, who, based on the venomous look on her face, had heard the proposal. He knew he had blushed hard, he was certain his hair was very probably darker than Weasley red.

"Uhm, on Valentine's?" he asked, wanting to make sure he had not misunderstood.

She nodded politely.

"Right, look, you are really sweet and all, and I am really sorry, and really flattered, but I am already going with my girlfriend." He said, gesturing to Victoire, who had made her way quickly to his side.

"Oh! I didn't realize. Right, well that was a good game, really good. Sorry about that Tori." She said, her cheeks darkening as she rushed away from the group.

If everyone had looked stunned by the girl asking him out, it was nothing to their faces at Teddy's reply, even Victoire looked shocked. Ollie was the only one that seemed unsurprised, he infact had a smug grin on his face. Teddy glanced at Victoire, by the look on her face he couldn't tell if she was mad about being called his girlfriend, mad about him being asked out in front of her, or just dumbfounded at the whole thing, he didn't have long to think about it though as Roxxy pulled away and he was slammed with a hug from Albus.

"I can't believe you won! That was so close, all of it, I thought I was going to wiz in my pants." He declared.

Teddy grinned down at him as he heard Harry and Ginny laugh.

"I think you need a new chaser though. Jamie is way better than that other kid, and he is ten. I could've held the quaffle better than that and I seek! He is utter bollocks!" he declared, James beamed proudly from behind his little brother.

Ginny cuffed Al upside the back of the head. "That was rude, have some manners. And watch your mouth!"

"It was true." Ollie grumbled, making James, Al, Roxxy and Molly all laugh. "Hi Mr and Mrs Potter." He said, receiving a hug from Ginny and a pat on the back from Harry. "I'm gonna go see my dad. He is over with Rhyan and her mum." He turned to Teddy, "Do we have a meeting after?"

Teddy nodded grimly, "Locker rooms, don't expect to get out within an hour." He said.

Ollie sighed and ran off to his parents, resigned to his fate.

Al released him and Teddy hugged his mum, he even let his dad give him a brief hug. James it seemed had reached the hugging is not cool stage and just smiled at him.

"Your jump over your own chaser. It was brill! Abso-freaking-positively-wicked. You have to teach me that." He was the next to receive a gentle smack to the back of the head. He grinned back at their dad.

"Language." He warned, though the smile made it far less threatening.

Teddy laughed and they all began their walk to the edge of the pitch, Molly and Roxxy stayed behind, talking with the rest of the group. This was one good thing about being the son of Harry and Ginny Potter. Most teenagers were so amazed at who they were that they kind of parted out of their way. It also helped that all history classes began covering the second war when school resumed after break, each year getting more in depth and descriptive. Over the last two years Teddy had gone home and asked questions every break, after finding out information that none of his family ever talked about. As they made their way over there were random calls of,

"Good game Potter."

"Way to go Lupin!"

"Awesome move Lupin!"

"Take it to another cup Potter!"

Teddy hadn't thought anything of it until James spoke up.

"Why do they call you by two different surnames?"

Teddy looked at him, surprised. "Because my last name is Potter-Lupin…I suppose they don't want to say such a long name." he surmised, it hadn't ever really dawned on him before. He glanced at Harry and Ginny briefly who were both looking at James, obviously caught off guard by his question.

"Right, I know your last name." he said, coming to a stop and leaning against the back of the Gryffindor locker room. "But why? I don't have two names, neither do Lily or Al." he said.

Teddy gaped at him, Harry saved the day by stepping in. "Because Teddy has two sets of parents. You know that. You know all about Remus and Tonks." He said simply.

"But why don't any of the rest of us have the same two sets of parents. We're brothers." He said, as if that said everything.

Teddy looked at Victoire, who was frowning slightly. Then to his mum and dad who both looked at a loss for words.

"Of course we're brothers. It really doesn't matter Jamie." Teddy said with a shrug.

"But it does." He insisted. "If we have different names and different parents we aren't brothers. And, well we are, and I don't understand."

Teddy looked rather traumatized at James' assertion that they couldn't be brothers. He didn't even know what to say to that.

"He's right." Al said with a nod. "It doesn't make sense."

Ginny intervened, "We will explain it all at home. I promise. Maybe we should have explained better before, but now is certainly not the time. But as it is, you DO have the same last name, Potter. And you live in the same house and call us mum and dad. Which means you have the same parents. You are brothers. Now tell him congratulations, and stop being gits. We don't get to stay here and see him all day, and Lily is with aunt Fleur shopping, I am sure she is driving her barmy.

"NO way, you know my mum, any reason to shop in a frilly store and she will stay there for hours, you may never get Lily back. After all Dom and I have been over Tutu's for some time and Louis was never quite into them." Her statement broke the tension that had suddenly erupted as all of them laughed.

"Thank Merlin for that. I don't think Louis has the legs for tutus or the hair for tiaras." Ginny said with a chuckle.

James and Al quickly lost interest in this topic and wandered off to Tarryn, whom they had met several times over the summer, and Lucy. Harry watched their progress and when they were out of earshot his smiled at Teddy.

"So, I happened to have overheard that you have a girlfriend." He joked.

Teddy flushed and glanced at Victoire who was grinning.

"Well-I-Uhm-that is to say." He stammered, after all, they hadn't exactly ever called each other that before, in fact they had done an awful lot to stop other people from calling them that. They hadn't even talked about, he just sort of blurted it out.

Victoire interrupted his anxious spluttering. "Yup." She said simply.

Ginny laughed as the astounded look reappeared on Teddy's face. "Glad to hear it." She said before pulling Victoire into a hug.

Teddy watched them in awe before looking back at his dad who was smiling bemusedly at him. "A letter wouldn't have gone amiss you know."

Teddy shrugged. "It just kinda happened." He said honestly. "I just recently found out myself."


	20. Chapter 20: Valentine's Day at the Manor

Chapter Twenty

**Valentine's Day at the Manor**

James was laying on his stomach in the floor of the sitting room, a quidditch magazine in his hands. He was thinking about how fast that Firestorm lightning had been. He had to get to Diagon Alley to see one up close.

"What cha doing Jamie?" Al asked as he flounced onto the floor beside him.

He looked over at his little brother. "Reading about The Pride." He said, looking back at his magazine.

"I can't believe you pull for them." Albus scoffed, shaking his head.

"Better than being a Harpies fan." James said, rolling his eyes.

"Mum played for the Harpies."

"And mum is a girl. You aren't a girl, you can't pull for an all witch team. It makes you soft." James shot back.

"Does not. They win as much as Portree."

"Pahlease, you wish."

"Why does it sound like you two are in here arguing?" Harry asked as he stepped into the room.

"Because little baby Albie is a little bitty girl."

"Because Jamie is a git."

Both boys said at the same time.

"Oh, well that explains so much." Harry snickered as he sat on down, crosslegged on the floor across from them.

"Careful dad, you won't be able to get back up." James teased.

"Careful Jamie, or you won't be able to fly for a month." Harry kidded in return, nudging the older of the two boys' shoulder.

They looked a lot alike, the pair of them. Their faces both bore a striking resemblance to Harry's, though James' eyes were an incredible pale hazel in color and Al boasted Harry's emerald green . Their hair made them look different as well, while Al had inherited Harry's raven colored messy head, making him a spitting image of his father, James hair had lightened considerably over the last three years. It was now a chocolate brown with undeniable red and honey brown highlights that streaked naturally through it. Both boys shared the same infectious grin, however James was the one of the two that had figured out how to use it to his advantage.

"So what are we fighting about today?" Harry asked, as if the bickering was a normal everyday thing, which it was.

"Quidditch teams." Al said simply.

"Ah…I don't even know why I asked." Harry replied. "So, your mum took Lils out for the day, and the three of us need to talk."

Both boys heads shot up from the quidditch stats. "We weren't pummeling each other or anything dad." James said, alarmed.

"No, that argument was almost friendly." Albus defended.

"It isn't about you two arguing. It is about Teddy being your brother." Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh." Said James.

"Ok." Albus added.

Sometimes Harry wasn't positive that they weren't actually twins. They may fight and argue but they were eerily alike in a lot of ways. The only one that James was more alike than Albus was Freddie…And that was just scary. Harry was truly afraid for Hogwarts over the next few years. He pulled out a stack of pictures and a folded up parchment out of his pocket and laid them out in a straight line in front of him. He pointed to each one in turn

"This is,"

"Remus." James interrupted.

"Right, and this is.."

"Tonks." Said Albus.

"Exactly." He pointed to a picture he had replicated from Andromeda. "This is a picture of Tonks when she was pregnant with Teddy. See her stomach? Do you two remember when mum was pregnant with Lily?"

"No." they both said in unison.

"Alright, I didn't figure you did." He pointed to three other pictures in turn. "This is your mum when she was pregnant with you Jamie. And this is Al. And this, this is Lily."

"Why is she so much rounder with Lily than with us?" James asked bluntly.

Harry laughed. "Because you two came early and were tiny little buggers. Especially Al."

"He is still a tiny little bugger." James said, playfully waking the back of his brother's head.

"HEY!" Al protested.

Harry smiled, "You'll grow out of it, I promise. Anyways, so, you all have my last name because I am your dad. Your mum was pregnant with you. "

"Yeah, we already know that dad." James said, rolling his eyes.

Harry scowled at him. "Right, well, your mum wasn't ever pregnant with Teddy, and he has a different dad than you. His dad, is Remus Lupin." Harry pointed at the picture of Remus. "But there was the war. You know, the reason uncle Bill has scars and Uncle George has no ear."

"And why uncle Fred is past the veil, and your mum and dad and godfather are all dead." James added.

Harry winced at his son's lack of tact. Albus was being oddly quiet.

"Exactly. Well in that same war, at the very last battle, when Teddy was just little, he had just been born. Here see, this is a picture shortly after that battle of me and him." He pushed a picture of a very young version of himself holding a very very small Teddy towards the boys.

"Look how little you were dad! Look Al, you will grow out of it." James harassed.

"I hate you, you know that." Al said, sticking his tongue out.

"Alright, focus on the story here." Harry said, trying to smooth over the fight. "Anyways, when he was born his mum and dad asked me to be his Godfather. When they died in the war I was still really young." He pointed at the picture again. "So I went back to school, got out, married your mum, and then we went to a big room at the ministry, told them that we wanted to be Teddy's parents for real and signed these papers, saying that we were, forever from that day, his parents. Which is why, you are his brothers even if he has another set of parents and two last names." He handed the copy of the adoption papers to the boys.

"But why did you keep Lupin in there if you wanted him to be yours?" James asked, reading the papers and tracing his parent's signatures with his finger.

"Because I want him to be proud that his parents died to give him a safe world, and just because they died does not mean they will not always be a part of him."

"But…I don't understand." Al said honestly.

James looked at him perplexed. And Harry didn't quite understand himself what Albus didn't get.

"How do you know you aren't Teddy's dad. I understand that Tonks was pregnant with him but a dad is just who raised you right? That makes you his dad, not Remus. So you don't need the Lupin."

Suddenly it dawned on Harry. Al had not had the talk yet. He had very little idea of what made a dad a dad. James, who had recently learned all about this, burst into laughter as he realized it as well.

"Yeah dad, how do you know that you aren't the one that is Teddy's dad?" he reiterated, rottenness all over his face.

"I swear Jamie, one of these days." Harry muttered. "Well, I wasn't married to Tonks. When a woman gets pregnant, her husband is the father of the baby. I wasn't married to her, I wasn't even around her."

"So you have to be married, and the wife gets pregnant and you are the dad? You can't be a dad without being married? That's why you had to wait till you married mum to say you wanted to be Teddy's dad?"

At this question even James went silent, it seemed he had wanted to know about this as well, after all he was only nearly eleven, he knew the basics. It would have been so easy to just say yes and be done with everything.

Harry sighed and reorganized the pictures. "Alright, so here is how it goes. And Jamie, just bear with me for what you already know." He huffed.

0o0o0o0o0o

"Get up Get up Get Up Get UP!"

Harry opened his eyes and glared at the dark blurry shape that possessed his son's voice.

"Wussamatter?" he mumbled, trying to sit up. He felt Ginny scrambling to sit up as well.

"Look it is midnight! And it is Valentines day! I am officially eleven! Old enough to do magic, old enough to fly a real broom, old enough to go to Hogwarts!" he was now bouncing on his parents' bed on his knees.

Harry grabbed him and flung him down between them just like he had when he was a rambunctious toddler. "And you are old enough to be asleep at midnight!" he said, tickling him mercilessly. He really couldn't blame him, he could still remember counting down the minutes to his own birthdays.

"Can we go get my wand?"

"It is midnight!" Harry spluttered. "Olivanders isn't even open."

"And you can't get a wand until you are officially accepted to Hogwarts, you won't get your letter until summer. So no wand, but if you want a birthday cake you will go to bed. You kept me up all night eleven years ago, we are not going for a replay." Ginny mumbled and pulled the blanket and threw it over him.

"Awe come on! It is a HUGE birthday!" he whined.

After ten minutes or so, Harry gave in to his first born and ushered him down stairs, under threats of bruising, death and disembowelment if he woke his siblings. Harry was now sitting on a stool at the counter in the kitchen, James was sitting on the counter, both with bowls of ice cream and huge mugs of hot chocolate, Harry was watching the snow fall from the windows above the sink.

"I am so excited! I can't believe I am finally eleven and next year I get to go to Hogwarts with Teddy." James yelped again.

"I think you should just stay home, I don't think Hogwarts can handle your shenanigans. You and Freddie will have the place in ruins."

James laughed happily. "Well, then you won't have to miss me for long then. And we can bring Teddy back home."

Harry laughed, "You think he will go for that?"

"I doubt it, but it was worth a try." James said with a shrug.

"You wouldn't come home if we asked you?" Harry teased.

"Are you kidding, I might never come home again! Our family is so boring, I need some adventure in my life. Danger, you know like Indiana Jones! You guys wouldn't know adventure and danger if it knocked on the front door."

Harry snorted into his ice cream. "You're right James, I am only head Auror after all. I am so dull."

"Well because you are a department head, you get up to nothing fun. No missions, no nothing. You play by the rules dad. I am not a play by the rules kind of kid."

Harry was full out laughing now. "You are right about one thing Jamie, you are not a play by the rules kind of kid."

0o0o0o0o

After sitting up together and joking until three in the morning Harry and James finally fell to sleep in the sitting room, watching none other than Indiana Jones. It was ten before Ginny allowed the other kids to go in and wake them up.

"Happy Birthday Jamie!" Lily cried, jumping on him where he slept on his stomach, in his favorite chair.

"Mmmmggmohomhmhppphphh!" he yelled as Al joined her and his face was smashed into the cushions.

"Sorry what was that?" Al said with a grin as he sat onto his older brother's legs. Lily took up residence on his back.

"I said mum get them off!"

Ginny laughed from her place beside Harry, where he had laid his head into her lap and attempted in vain to fall back to sleep. "After you woke me up at midnight jumping on my bed like a loon? Absolutely not. Commence with the birthday attack." She declared, waiving the youngest two Potter's on.

They resumed their tickling and wrestling, James screaming and laughing. "Get off, get off!"

"Alright, come on, off your brother." Harry said, grabbing Lily around the waist and Albus from the back of the pajama pants. "I have some Valentine's to give out before we celebrate with the birthday boy here."

He carried Lily over his shoulder to the downstairs sitting room. This had turned into something of a tradition. Valentine's Day gifts were given out first thing and the rest of the day they spent together, celebrating James' birthday. Today was no different. Each of the kids received a box of Honeydukes' best chocolate and a stuffed animal. Lily was ecstatic when she opened the matching earrings to the pair Harry had given Ginny just moments before. Ginny also received a voucher for babysitting by the grandparents for the following weekend, when her and Harry would be going on a surprise three day vacation alone. Once they were through with the Valentine's festivities and Harry and James had each eaten a sufficient breakfast, Harry stood and stretched.

"Alright, so, if three munchkins can get dressed quickly, we will ride the tube to London, otherwise we are taking the boring old car." He said with a grin, playing off his kids' love of the tube.

They all jumped up, squealing in delight.

"Why are we going to London?" James asked as he put his plate in the sink.

"I was under the impression that you wanted to go to the quidditch shop." Ginny said simply.

James' face lit up. "But you said we couldn't go to diagon alley until I was officially a Hogwarts student." He said in disbelief.

"No, we said you couldn't get a wand until then, we can still spend the afternoon there." Harry corrected. "I mean, unless the birthday boy would rather do something else."

James shook his head frantically, racing ahead of them and up the stairs. "Are you kidding? I have money saved up, I need the new quarterly quidditch review. And they have the new updated edition of Quidditch through the ages." Anything else he said was cut off by his door as he slammed it to change.

The kids were ready in record time, the only issue when Ginny had to force Lily into a pair of leggings under her skirt because it was cold. Harry loved the fact that they had managed to get a girly little girl. Ginny was baffled by it, not being the prissy type herself. James and Al were both happily wearing their nicest muggle jeans and jumpers, each boy wore a jacket that bore the name and logo of the same (amazingly enough)muggle football team, Manchester United, a team that had been drilled into them by Dudley and Parker. James in black and Al in red. It made the fights over them occur less if each boy had a specific color. James bounded down the stairs, pushing his hand through his already messy hair. It never ceased to amaze Harry how the kid had somehow managed to pick up his namesakes habits and personality when he had never even met him. Whereas Al was similar in many ways, but would always be more understated, and a bit more tenderhearted.

"We're ready!" James shouted, skidding to a halt at his father's chest, Al ran directly into him, knocking them both into Harry's arms.

"Git." James grumbled.

"Sorry." Al muttered.

"Mouth! And it's alright Albie."

"DAD! Al, not Albie…I am not three anymore." Al whined, shaking his head morosely.

"You will always be my little Albie, just like your brother's will always be Teddy, or Jamie. Or even, little man, Scamp, and your own, baby boy. It won't change, no matter how old you get, deal with it."

"Daddy!" came Lily's shriek, as if she hadn't seen him in weeks, and she jumped from the bottom stair into his arms.

"Hey princess Potter. Are we all ready?"

"WAIT! Don't I get my gifts first?" James asked suddenly, spinning to his parents.

Ginny laughed, surprised that it had taken their rambunctious son so long to ask. "No, you get them tonight at the family party."

He pouted out his bottom lip, but said nothing, knowing that if he did he wouldn't be allowed to have his gifts after being ungrateful. They all walked to the end of the lane to where apparition was possible. Ginny took Al's hand and turned on the spot with a low pop. Harry held onto Lily and took James' hand and followed his wife, apparating into an alley behind the station to board a tube to London. All three kids, and Ginny, were bouncing with excitement. Harry couldn't blame them. He had enjoyed it the few times he got to ride one as a child as well. The ride was surprisingly smooth with the three kids so transfixed by looking out windows that they didn't reveal anything about the wizarding world, and for once, no stealthy memory charms were needed. Once they arrived in London they all filed off the tube and made it into the busy Saturday streets. James and Al hopped around, making Harry and Ginny twist and turn their heads like they were on a swivel trying to keep an eye on them. When they finally made the short walk to the Leaky Cauldron both parents were relieved. As they stood outside the door, Harry stealed himself for what was about to happen, it was a Saturday, the alley would be packed. There were bound to be reporters out and about with it being a holiday and being a game day and all. He turned towards the kids and smiled.

"Alright, we have two hours before we absolutely, have to go, which means, the joke shop first and then Quality Quidditch Supplies. But we have to leave in two hours if you want to make it to our next birthday surprise on time."

James' eyes lit up. "Are you going to tell us what the next surprise is?" he asked, the looks on Al and Lily's faces were enough to show that they were in the dark as well.

Harry glanced a Ginny who shrugged and nodded. "Well," she began, "We thought you would all enjoy going to the Pride, Harpies game, in Portree today. And since we are in the Alley and all, we figured everyone could get some team clothing to support your side."

If they had been excited about the tube, it was nothing to their excitement about the match. Both boys nearly took their parent's heads off with their hugs. Lily was just happy in general, but not really phased by the idea of the match, she wasn't particularly interested in quidditch. James made fast work of his uncles' joke shop. George was there, with Fred in tow, their gift to him was a basket and telling him to grab whatever he wanted. He did, enthusiastically so. Once they had finished, George and Freddie joined them, they were going to the match with them, Fred being James' best friend and all.

When they reached the quidditch store the three boys were practically vibrating they were so excited. They all three shot into the shop ahead of their parents and Lily, straight to the clothing department first. After wildly searching through hoodies and shirts, James and Freddie came away with matching deep purple hoodies, emblazoned with the trademark gold star on the back, their names were magicked on, over the star in the same glittering gold. James had also picked out a gold long sleeved shirt, with purple threading and detailing. AL was pulling a dark track jacket off the shelf and was having his name magicked onto the back over top of the signature silver talon. In his other hand was a dark green shirt that said REAL MEN LOVE HARPIES on the front, much to James', chagrin. Lily agreed to wear a green harpies bow and shirt to match her mum (who was going to wear her old jersey) and Al. Harry picked up a Pride sweatshirt in Gold and a black Pride of Portree shirt.

Once all clothing choices were set James Al and Freddie were found drooling over the Firestorm Lightning.

"Find a broom you like boys?" the sales clerk asked. He glanced at the three parents and approached the boys, knowing that very few people actually bought this broom, he hated disappointing young kids.

"Yes SIR!" James said reverently. "Do you think I could touch one? It's my birthday today and I'm eleven!"

He hesitated slightly. "I don't have a problem with it, if your parents don't mind."

James was hopping up and down. "Dad! Dad! PAHLEASE let me touch the Firestorm Lightning. This mas says it's ok! PAAAHHHHLLLLEEEEAAASSSSEEEE!" he begged as Harry walked closer.

Harry laughed, and the old clerk did the smallest of double takes when he recognized him as Harry Potter. "No issues here. I want to see it myself. You're sure you don't mind?"

"No sir, not at all. Specially as it's the little mister's birthday and all."

"That it is." Harry replied with a smile as the exquisite broom was placed in James' hands. He glanced back to the man. "I have about ten shirts and hoodies that need personalized too, for the match in an hour and a half, if you don't mind that is."

"It doesn't take but a minute for each. We will get them all sorted when we check you out. What do you think about that broom son?" he asked James, who had it between his legs and was smiling maniacally.

"I have never touched anything better." He practically whispered in reply.

Harry knelt down and looked at the broom. "You know, this doesn't look like it would do that great for a chaser. It is streamlined, and I bet a seeker or keeper would be near unbeatable on it, but I don't think it has the shape for a good chaser's broom." He said knowledgably as Ginny and Lily made their way over. Al was practically shaking as he ran his fingers over the ebony handle.

"You're dad is right. Look at the tail, see how it is more round, seekers can roll and turn faster, it is better for chasing the snitch, that's why it's speed is so impressive. For a keeper it means they can flip from side to side quicker, which is good for switch throwers and fakes. As a chaser if a good wind blows this is going to veer a bit with it, making you miss the goal."

James looked like his whole world had crashed in on him. "Bet-But it is perfect, it's the best broom there is."

"Yer mum and dad are right kiddo. This broom was designed and tested by and for seekers and keepers. If you are a chaser that isn't the one you want. But I'll tell ya what. Since it is yer eleventh birthday and all, and that only happens once. I can show you something you will really like. If you're a chaser that is." He said with a glint to his eye.

"I am! I am a chaser!" James nodded.

The man looked at Harry who nodded knowingly. "You see, when the lightning came out it was released before its counterparts. There are actually three brooms in this series. The lightning was the prototype to see how well it would sell. Now these two are released for sale but aren't going to be publicized until right before the league cup finals. This first one, is the beater's broomstick. It is the firestorm blaze."

Fred was nearly wetting himself as he looked at the broom. Even George was laughing at his son's reaction. The broom was thicker than average and they were told that there wasn't much besides are hurricane that could make it blow off course. The dark mahogany wood gleamed in Fred's hands.

"And now, what you were looking for birthday boy." He reached up into the storage room and came out with a long box. He pulled out a dark broom. Harry was pretty sure James had stopped breathing when it was placed in his hands. "The handle is reinforced dark Peruvian walnut. It goes within two miles the speed of the firestorm lightning and can turn nearly as quickly. It is sturdier, a wind isn't going to blow you off course and hold more steady. It is designed to be able to grip it with your knees or for one handed use. This, is the Firestorm Inferno. Now, these three were special ordered and are on hold. As is that Blaze and its mate, and one of the Ligtnings."

"This-This is an incredible broom." James barely breathed.

"You like it?" Harry asked in a skeptical voice.

James looked at him with such intensity it was hard to masque his expression. "Are you barmy? I love it, it is amazing. Even the name is the epitome of cool."

Harry laughed and ruffled his hair from behind. "Good, because that one is yours."

"WHAT!" James shrieked.

"That one is yours. We ordered them a few days ago, just for your birthday. Well one is for Teddy's but don't tell him, we are going to send it via owl. The other one is for your mum, so she can help you learn how to use yours, and you know I wasn't going to be left out, so I got the Lightning." He winked, James leapt into his arms, still holding the broom.

"But what about the other one? The Blaze?"

George smiled and patted Freddie's shoulder. "I thought you could use a pair of beaters to train against. Consider it a late birthday present."

Following his cousin's lead Freddie threw himself into his father's arms.

Al was pouting as they paid for their purchases and had their clothing personalized.

"This is so not fair."

Ginny put her arm around him and hugged him close. "When you turn eleven, I promise." She said soothingly.

"But that is ages away." He whined.

"Sorry love. Those are the rules." She replied.

"Well when I turn eleven I want the bestest newest broom they sell."

"On my honor as a former Harpies chaser, you will get it." She said with a smile.


	21. Chapter 21: Valentine's Day At Hogwarts

**_Thank you for reading and reviewing._**

**_I am glad you liked the break from Hogwarts_**

**_Especially since that is the first of many chapters from James' POV_**

**_Though, granted most will be at Hogwarts once he starts._**

**_In the end, this story will flip between four POVs_**

**_Teddy, James, Al, and Lily _**

**_And there may or may not be a random Scorpius or Victoire chapter in there ;)_**

**_Though none of them get their own chapters till they are eleven_**

**_And it looks like we are falling into a pattern that will likely keep going._**

**_I will update weekly, now that we are into the story updating daily isn't possible._**

**_Though as always if I write something faster you will get it immediately._**

**_As always I am not JKR._**

Chapter Twenty-One

**Valentine's Day at Hogwarts**

Victoire woke up and looked around herself. It was cold, which meant that the walk to Hogsmede was going to be miserable, especially in the outfit she had picked out for today. She sat up on the side of her bed and stared out at the snow falling. She could wear something different she supposed. She glanced over at the red mini skirt hanging from the wardrobe. No way was she going on her first Valentine's date with Teddy and NOT wearing that outfit. The cold be damned.

When Victoire met him in the great hall a few hours later for breakfast, Teddy's eyes like to popped out of his head. Victoire was standing in the doorway and then walking towards him, she was wearing white glittery tights and a very short red skirt with a tight white pullover jumper. The black heeled boots that went right below her knee made his mouth go slightly dry. Her white blonde hair shimmered in straight tresses down her back and over her shoulders. He had said nothing as she walked towards him and sat down between himself and Tarryn. Even Tarryn and Ollie were looking at her with something akin to shock on their faces.

"Wow Vic, you look gorgeous." Ollie said with a smile.

"Damn girl! If I wasn't going out with your cousin." Tarryn muttered playfully, wincing slightly when Victoire punched him. "You hit like a girl." He said, rubbing his shoulder.

"I am a girl." She said with a grin.

Teddy wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "Thank Merlin for that." He said into her ear, his face buried in her hair. "Happy Valentine's day, beautiful."

"Eating here! Can it with the snogging." Ollie groaned, pretending to gag.

"I think it is sweet. You should be sweeter." Rhyan said, smacking him in the back of his head.

Ollie chuckled while everyone else burst into laughter. He pointed up as the post came in and at least ten owls swooped down in front of the two of them, all bearing different flowers, and one, a wrapped package. He nuzzled his face into her shoulder. "Sweet enough for you?" he asked with a smile.

Rhyan was beaming. "It's a damn good start." She said, touching a rose.

"We're EATING here!" Teddy practically shouted, causing Ollie and Rhyan to jump and everyone at their end of the Gryffindor table to laugh.

He looked over at Victoire and listened to the sound of her laughter, he could listen to it for days. He remained quiet while she ate, staring at his hands, his plate, and then at her in turn. He was amazed that things had turned out this way. Never in a million years had he even imagined that he would have ended up with her in his life in this capacity. Not as a cousin, or a friend, or even a school mate, but as his girlfriend. It was as if his life had been shaken up and then flipped upside down and when his head stopped spinning he realized that somehow, it made more sense now that it was upside down than it did right side up. Maybe it had been upside down forever and was just now right side up?

"Oi! Earth to Teddy! Hello, we are going to go to Hogsmede without you. I am going to steal your date!" Tarryn said, reaching across Victoire and smacking his face.

He startled slightly from his thoughts and smirked embarrassedly. "Right, sorry about that. Actually you guys can go ahead on. I have other plans with MY date today."

Victoire raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise, the boys smiled and stood, Ollie pulling Rhyan to her feet and Tarryn walked over to Lucy, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, looking very pretty herself. Teddy returned his gaze to his own girlfriend.

"Was there anything you specifically wanted or needed to do in Hogsmede?" he asked as he swung his leg over the bench and stood.

"Not particularly." She replied questioningly.

He nodded and waited for her to stand and handed her the solid black coat she had laid on the bench beside of her. "You are going to freeze to death if we walk all the way to Hogsmede."

"Your face was completely worth it." She said with a grin.

He smiled and took her hand, leading her to the front doors. "I have an idea, though it would mean you wouldn't see anyone but me." He said, hesitating outside the doors.

Her teeth were already chattering slightly. "Oh how dreadful." She joked, poking his ribs with her free hand causing him to squirm away slightly. "Lead the way."

He smiled and turned away from the front gate and headed out onto the grounds, he frowned as she stumbled slightly, her heals sinking in the snow. He looked up to where he could see the willow looming and around them, it was cold, really cold. Anyone headed to Hogsmede had gone out the front gate and no one else was on the grounds, it was far too cold out for that. Just to be safe he pulled off his own coat and held it out to her. She was shaking slightly and didn't protest. She pushed her arms in the sleeves, he was glad to see that it fell several inches below her skirt so he turned his back to her.

"Come on, hop up." He said, standing like he did when Lily wanted a piggyback ride.

"I-I'm t-t-t-tooo h-h-heavy." She protested through trembling lips.

He turned his head and scowled at her. "Be serious, you weigh less than Jamie, now come on, hurry up before we both freeze here and you never get your gift."

Grudgingly she obliged and he carried her the rest of the way to the base of the willow, before brandishing his wand and using a levitation charm just as his father had suggested all those months ago during their "quidditch" conversation. He sat her down once they reached the opening and he slid in first, then caught her so she wouldn't stumble and get dirty as she slipped inside. Once they were ensconced underneath the tree in the passage he pressed his lips to hers once, twice.

"You are bloody gorgeous." He said, his hands on her waist, just inside the open front of his coat she was wearing, but overtop of her own. She smiled as he pulled her against him and twirled her hair around his finger. "Let's get moving, it will be warm soon enough." He said taking her hand and pulling her along behind him.

"Uhm…where are we going?" she asked, warming a bit as Teddy picked up their pace.

"It's a surprise, an unexpected one as I didn't think about it until breakfast, so I can't even promise that it will be that great, but still." He huffed.

Suddenly, just as the ground sloped upwards they were stopped by an invisible barrier. "Felix Felicis." He said confidently and the barrier fell. Once he pushed the large wooden door beyond it open he felt the tingle of strong magic and knew that the tunnel had resealed itself.

They stopped walking when they entered a large stone room, the magical lights on the walls suddenly lit in reaction to their magic upon entry, just as the rest of the lights in the house would.

"Erm, are we in a cellar?" she asked uncertainly, looking at the shelves.

Teddy nodded, he couldn't blame her for not recognizing it. After all, they were strictly forbidden from being down here at all when they were young. He had only been seven or eight when they moved.

"For the moment, not for long though. Come on." He started his way up the stairs that lead into the main house.

He was a bit taken back when he pushed the door at the top and it glowed a bright gold, then opened, that was the first time that particular door had ever opened for him before. He turned and smiled at her.

"Dad told me it was still enchanted and that you had to have his or mum's permission to be in the house, or in the cellar. Do you remember how many times it shot us backwards into the scullery when we were little?" he asked, giving her memory a nudge before ushering her through into the still yellow room. "We used to do it on purpose just because it was fun."

Her mouth was slightly agape as she looked around and then through the window into the backyard beyond, their tree was still there, steadfast, as it had been since the time of Teddy's father. She pushed past him into the familiar sitting room, smiling when the lights instantly lit and a fire popped up into the fireplace.

"We're in the old Hogsmede house." She whispered.

He laughed lowly. "Yep, dad told me how to get in. It used to be the shrieking shack, where my dad, Remus, used to transform. You know that though, but that is why the tunnel is there. It's how he got here while he was at Hogwarts, and what kept the others safe."

She nodded, she had so many good memories of this house. He seemed to be a bit nostalgic too, looking around. Most of the furniture had been moved with them to the manor, but some of it remained, there was the old sofa in the sitting room, and a glass topped table still sat in the eat-in kitchen. He remembered a lot of meals, homework and family talks at that table.

"D'you remember when we got lost in the fireplace?" she asked pointing to the fire that was quickly warming the room.

Teddy winced at the memory. "How could I forget? It is the first spanking I ever remember getting." He muttered.

She laughed lightly. "Uncle Harry was so mad. You know, that is the only time he ever spanked me. Ever. And we got up to a lot of trouble in our day. I remember him fire calling mum and dad and dad telling him to do it. I think he might have been as scared to do it as I was to get it." She said, looking longingly up the stairs. "Can we go see your room?" she asked.

"Be my guest." He said with a nod and he followed her up.

An hour later, after reminiscing over many stories and laughing over their younger selves and Teddy knew that this had been the perfect place to bring her. Especially with the presents he had to give her. They were sitting on the sofa. Victoire had her back to his chest and her head leant back onto his shoulder, he legs stretched across the sofa, her boots lay forgotten on the floor along with his white trainers. He took his hand from where it had been resting on her stomach and fished around in his pocket.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to see his hand.

"Sit still, I am giving you your gift." He said using his other hand to hold her in place. He sat two very small boxes on her lap and pointed his wand, returning them to their original size. "I didn't want them delivered to the school because I need to explain them."

"You didn't need to spend money on me Teddy." She said, lifting the smaller box into her hands.

He instantly grabbed it and sat it up on the back of the sofa. "Nope, open that one first. And I didn't spend much. In fact, I barely spent anything." He said, pointing at the large flat rectangle box on her lap.

She didn't say anything else as she opened the lid and pulled out silver picture frame that held three 5x7 photos. In the center was a picture of the first carving of their names that was on the tree in this very yard, on the right was a picture that had been taken of the two of them at their grandparent's anniversary dinner over Christmas holiday and on the left was a picture of a very young pair of kids. Teddy was maybe six or seven, making her five. Her hair was pulled into blonde pigtails and his was his favorite turquoise blue, the same color that it was right now. In the picture little Teddy would lean in and kiss her cheek right before she turned and kissed him right on the lips making him scrunch his nose.

"It's perfect." She breathed.

He kissed the back of her head and reached up and handed her the other package. "I was looking through pictures with mum after Christmas and we found these two, then Dad brought that one home from Uncle Ron's the same night. I thought it was perfect. But this, I had to write home to get, and I owe Aunt Hermione huge for altering it for me."

She opened the box and pulled out a white gold locket shaped like a heart. It held two diamonds in the font. "Teddy this is way too much."

She felt him shake his head in reply as he took it from her hands and opened it, instead of pictures there was an engraved T on one side and a V on the other.

"Actually, this one technically cost nothing at all. This was my mum's when she was your age. My Gramma gave it to me a few years back, it wasn't a locket until recently though. But this is a special locket and the only one of its kind. Like I said, Aunt Hermione did all the work on it. Put your finger right there on the T."

She did as he requested and instantly a memory of their first kiss, from his point of view, played in her head, like she was watching a movie. It was followed by his memory of them carving into the tree, and then them swimming in the river at the burrow when they were around ten and eleven. Finally she pulled her finger away and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"Each side can hold ten memories and can only be changed by me or you, depending on the initial. My side is full right now." He said with a smile, "Your side needs some work though."

"How?" she asked breathlessly.

He took her hand and pressed her finger to the V, it warmed slightly under her touch. "Now you have to think the spell, Legalatis, and concentrate on the memory and it will go right in. It is like a portable pensieve. Only, you will have both of our memories with you forever." He said his lips again pressing against the back of her head. She thought the spell and let herself remember the night a few weeks ago when he had told her he loved her for the first time. When she was through and touched it again the memory played back, apparently since his was touching her he could see it too.

"I meant it. I do love you, more than I can even begin to understand." He whispered.

She turned in his lap, the necklace still gripped in her fist. "I love you too. Thank you so much." She said fervently, pressing her lips to his.


	22. Chapter 22: Happy Birthday To You

**_Thought I should tell you that I went back and fixed the quidditch team errors,_**

**_Chapters 4 and 5_ were revised,**

**But only by switching Rory and Tarryn's names so it doesn't necessarily require a reread.**

**Well you know, unless you are dying to do it or something.**

**This contains flashbacka, though I tried to make it pretty evident**

Chapter Twenty-Two

**Happy Birthday To You**

He opened his eyes slowly, the heavy fog that is induced by a lot of liquor still making them heavy. He was going to move but could feel someone pressed against his bare back. Knowing that it could only be Victoire still sleeping, he let his mind wander back over the last several hours, trying to grasp where he was at and what was going on. He closed his eyes back and thought of his last real, solid memory. It was his birthday party. He had come of age, he was finally seventeen…Oh damn, the party.

-00-00-00-

Someone covered his eyes with their hands from behind him while sitting at the breakfast table. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around the small wrists as Victoire leaned down next to his ear.

"Happy Birthday little man." She whispered, kissing his cheek.

He chuckled when she used his father's nickname for him, one that still had not completely been hung up. You would think by seventeen someone would assume he had outgrown it. He pulled her hands from his eyes and turned, kissing her lips softly.

"You don't get to call me that, it sounds so much more terrible coming from you. Besides, if need be I will prove to you just how wrong that name is." he said against her lips.

Her answering devious smile took his breath away. "Don't tease, I might take you up on that and use the name all day, even at your party."

Teddy rolled his eyes in exasperation. He had been trying to talk Ollie and Tarryn out of a party for weeks. "It is a Wednesday. What are they thinking?"

She giggled, "I think we were all thinking that we could skip classes tomorrow and just suffer through with detentions. Get a little bit of extra bonding time in." She admitted.

He laughed, knowing that she was right. There was no way any of them were going to escape the evening without coming away with a hangover at the very least.

He didn't have long to protest however, as his friends and cousins were all arriving and wishing him birthday greetings, none of them willing to listen to his protestations of a middle of the week party. He finally fell silent when several post owls landed in front of him, all bearing packages of some shape or size. He was just finishing opening a fancy gold wrist watch that had been labeled from both his Gramma and Grandfather and his Grandmum and Grandad Weasley. He was searching through the mass of quidditch apparel and paraphernalia from his aunts and uncles. The hamper of sweets pranks and jokes from his uncle George. The new playing gloves from Jamie and Al. The makeup kit and teddy bear (much to his friends' amusement) from Lily. A Manchester United jersey and signed football from his Uncle Dudley, Aunt Cora and Parker. But searching through all of it, he realized there was nothing from his parents…Not even a note. He had just looked up to tell Vic when he felt a tap on his back. He turned to see Professor Longbottom standing there, a huge smile on his face.

"Hey there birthday boy, it seems like just yesterday we were singing to you on your first birthday." He said happily.

"Hi professor." He said, hesitantly, he was still thinking over not getting a gift or note from his parents.

"Your father and mother sent this directly to me. I was told to give it to you today." He said, handing him a scroll and waving his wand, making a long box appear in front of him. Teddy stared at the box, there was no doubt in his head what that was. Handing the note to Victoire he ripped into the box, Ollie and Tarryn gladly helping.

He stared, wide eyed at the gleaming dark wood broom that lay in the box, the word Inferno engraved down the side, flames flickering off of the end of the word. He was speechless, Victoire nudged him and forced him to take the note.

_Teddy,_

_We hope this letter finds you happy, on this your seventeenth birthday, little man. We hate that we can't spend today with you. I swear I just took you from your mum's arms and you told me you were one. But apparently that just isn't the case. I was so terrified the first time I held you and here you are now, far too big for me to even consider lifting and cuddling anymore. Sorry, we'll stop the sentimental stuff right here. I wouldn't want your uncle Ron to find out that I have become soft in my old age._

_You are under strict orders to bring that present of yours home in a few weeks. Your mum and brother want to play with you on their matching brooms. This is the new Firestorm Inferno and was special made for a chaser and special ordered, just for you. We hope you enjoy it. And look forward to see you flying it at your next match._

_We know that it is tradition to get your child a watch on their coming of age, however your grandparents desperately wanted to buy their first grandson his watch. Besides, could you honestly see us shopping for a watch? It doesn't so much scream out our taste in birthday presents does it? _

_We wanted to get you this broom for your final year and a half on a house team. You are such an amazing flyer, an incredible player and a brilliant captain. Also, because we just wanted to remind you, that no matter your future and your choices may be, we support you, and want you to be the absolute best that you can be. Never settle for flying with everyone else son, always remember to shoot above the clouds and soar. Happy Birthday!_

_Love,_

_Mum and Dad_

_P.S. That last line was your mum's, I think she has been watching too many princess movies with Lily but there you have it. And it did say exactly what we were trying to convey. _

Teddy smiled happily as he folded the letter and put it into his pocket, before running his fingers over the broom handle.

"Well there is no way the party is going to be able to top this." Ollie huffed.

"Are you kidding? Fire whiskey and Party Punch? I think after an hour he may forget he even got a broom." Tarryn argued.

-00-00-00-

Teddy sighed, Tarryn had been right, he had momentarily forgotten about the broom. However, the party had slipped his mind too.

-00-00-00-00-

The party had been loud, what Teddy could remember of it. He was pretty sure that he had four shots within the first hour, after that, he wasn't sure. What he did remember was a lot of dancing.

"Oi, birthday boy! Your turn for a shot!" came Tarryn's voice

"Nah ugh, no way. No more." He replied, hiding behind Victoire and Molly.

"Don't be a spoil sport, you aren't going to class tomorrow anyways, remember we all vowed to take a detention together." Ollie said, pulling him from behind his giggling bodyguards.

Teddy gave in easily, a side effect of the other drinks that had both been forced on him and that he had willingly drank over the last several hours.

" I'm not even gonna be able to fin' my bed." He said, slurring slightly. He blinked as Victoire steadied him, her trilling laughter making him smile.

"Good, you can find your way to mine." She said flirtatiously.

"Alright, that is WAY more than I need to know." Molly grimaced. She hugged Teddy and turned back to the side of the room that was doubling as a dance floor, heading towards Roxxy who was bouncing around with a butterbeer in her hands and dancing playfully with a few friends. Teddy scowled at the two second year boys that were dancing with her and her group.

"She is too young for that." He grumbled.

Rhyan laughed and turned him away from the scene, "She is fine, she is young, you are right, but she is just playing around. Come on Vic, let's take him to get more drinks before he becomes the party patrol on poor Roxxy." She said smiling as Victoire took his other arm and pulled him towards the refreshment table, he followed them willingly enough.

Teddy had to admit, as weird as he had been afraid his relationship with Rhyan would be after the whole dating, Victoire, and then Ollie thing, it was completely opposite. Her dating Ollie made complete sense now, and they really seemed to care about each other. Victoire and Rhyan had somehow ended up becoming closer friends after all of it, possibly because their boyfriends were often together, which put them together. The foursome was often found goofing off and doing things with one another. Teddy was personally glad that his terrible actions while dating Rhyan hadn't ruined the friendship that they now shared.

After more drinks, and enough dancing to make him woozy, or maybe the drinks had made him woozy, Teddy sat down on the sofa and threw his head back, closing his eyes. He peeked one eye open when he felt Victoire sit in his lap, he dropped his hand to her bare thigh, tracing circles on her skin with his fingers.

"What do you think you are doing? You are the birthday boy, you can't go to sleep." She teased, while she had drank a bit she was still only on the tipsy side, knowing that her boyfriend was going to need someone to watch out for him.

"I can't move anywhere either. I will celebrate in any way you like, just don't ask me to move." He mumbled.

She laughed and kissed his lips gently. "What if I move you to a room with a bed in it?" she asked, knowing that he was far past his tolerance level of alcohol. And, as it was a weeknight and after eleven, she was fairly certain that Neville would be along soon to break the party up, in fact he had likely only waited this long because he knew it was Teddy's 17th birthday.

"That depends, how many stairs are there and are you staying in bed with me?" he asked, figuring if they were skipping classes together as it was, they might as well wake up together. Not to mention that the short, shocking backless blue dress, with the plunging neckline, and extremely high heels made him want to throw her on the floor in front of everyone. A bed, in a private room, would be nice.

She giggled and stood, pulling her dress back into position, she held out her hands to him, "If you think you can make it to the room, I think I can stay." She answered. He nodded and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the head rush of standing and the incredibly long journey he was putting himself through.

After several refusals of more drinks and food, Teddy and Victoire made it out of the common room. It really didn't take long to walk to the seventh floor corridor, and the walk helped to sober Teddy up a bit. It had also been at least an hour since he drank anything so he was slowly getting back to speed, though he was still far past tipsy and about a shade or two lighter than completely wasted.

They entered the same room that Victoire had conjured in January and Teddy walked directly to the bed and sat down. He watched silently as she slipped her shoes off and threw them on the sofa.

His courage was amplified by the alcohol in his system and he stopped her as she walked towards the bathroom and reached for the side zipper on her way. "Don't take it off." He said.

She looked up at him and smiled in question.

"Let me do it."

Her eyes widened but she let her hands fall back to her sides. He stood and walked to her, only stumbling over the large rug once. Without touching her he leaned down and kissed her deeply, his fingers grabbed the zipper the pulled it down to her hip where it stopped. He didn't try and take the rest of it off, however.

"Now, I am looking at this." He said, lifting a finger and trailing it down the V neck that came even with the middle of her breasts, his other hand placed on the bare expanse of her back. "And I am going to go out on a limb here and say that there are no undergarments."

"Well, I am wearing panties." She corrected.

He nodded and pulled her to the sofa, where he sat against the back of it and leant down to kiss her exposed collar bone. "I can take it off?" he asked against her skin, his breath made her shiver.

"I haven't run for hiding yet." She pointed out.

He nodded, taking that for her acquiescence and slipped the straps off of her shoulders.

-00-

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt her lips press into the center of his back. He desperately tried to remember how far they had gone last night, his memories were all mushed together. When she reached her arm over his hip and let her hand rest over his boxers against him several things flashed through his mind. He was wearing boxers, they obviously didn't have sex as he was pretty sure he wouldn't have put clothes back on afterwards. His second thought was less coherent, she was touching him, it felt ama and he remembered her doing the same thing last night, and he instantly remembered touching her. He rolled towards her and smiled slightly. He kissed her gently and quickly, after all morning breath after a party was definitely not what he wanted to leave her with after last night. He buried his face in her neck, her loose hair obscuring his face.

"How do you still look gorgeous and smell good after a night like last night?" he asked, giving into the urge and kissing her neck.

She wiggled closer to him, moving her hand and letting him press against her body instead. He ran his hand down her side, looping his fingers under the strappy side of the silky thongs she was still wearing, they were silver, he remembered.

"I happen to think that last night was amazing." She replied while grazing her nails across his back.

"You sure? I mean, we, and I, and I was rather drunk." He was nervous, he had done the things from last night before, but never with her, and it had never been like that. And he was sure that she hadn't ever done that before.

She nudged his face up with hers so she was looking into his eyes. "I am positive. I don't regret it, and it was amazing."

He smiled and kissed her again, trying to remember the whole morning breath problem. His hand wondered from her side to her lower abdomen. She whimpered as he rolled her over to her back and began to kiss her still naked chest, his hands reacquainting themselves with her.

"Well if that's the case, and we are skipping classes today anyways." He said mischievously.


	23. Chapter 23: Polite Conversation

**_Sorry, I have been sick._**

**_At least I left you on a good note right :)_**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Twenty-Three

**_Polite Conversation_**

Unfortunately for the five Gryffindor friends, their professors were quite wise to their plot of a joint detention and instead they all received a two hour detention, alone, for each class that they missed that day, for Ollie , Tarryn, and Rhyan that was three, for Victoire, who was attempting to become a healer, that was four for Teddy, it was five, and as one of them was Defense where he had so recently been in trouble it was made into a four hour detention on a Saturday. It took a bit over a week for all of the detentions to be served and meant that Gryffindor quidditch practice had been cancelled all week, as two chasers, a beater, and the seeker were all out, not to mention that two of them were the captain and second in command.

Professor Schronce was walking around the room overlooking his student's work. Teddy was attempting to stay clear of the splashes of shrinking solution that were boiling out of Tarryn's cauldron.

"I swear to Merlin, T, if that hits any part of me you are dead." He hissed over the bubbling.

"Why doesn't it look like yours?" Tarry asked, peeking into Teddy's batch which was simmering softly.

"Because, you prat, you suck a potions." Teddy teased.

"Tarryn, it looks like you added to much leech juice." The young potions master said, her short curls frizzing out a bit due to the humidity from all of the cauldrons.

"I added a dash, it said a dash!" he whined.

She raised her eyebrows and leaned over, trying to maintain a safe distance. "No, it looks like you added a splash, which is about half a teaspoon more than a dash."

"It couldn't have just said that?" he argued.

"I didn't write the book Mr. Demarcus, I only try and teach it to you." She said with a sigh.

Teddy chuckled at Tarryn's glower of reply. They could both hear Ollie holding back his own laughter from two tables behind them, where he sat with their fellow sixth year Gryffindor Scheyenne Criss. Tarryn hated potions, he had only continued with it because he had somehow managed an E on his OWL and his mother had made him.

"Don't know who in the bloody hell needs this subject in real life anyways." He was grumbling, as he dodged the splashes while he tried to ladle his product into one of Teddy's crystal phials.

"Uhm, why are you using my stuff?" Teddy protested, as he searched his potions kit for another flagon.

"Because, last week my Fire Protection Potion was too cold it shattered my last one."

Teddy frowned at the memory of the small patch of frostbite on his arm that had to heal all the way. "I don't know how I ever could have forgotten." He muttered mutinously, rubbing the spot unconsciously.

Once his potion was stoppered he held out his hand for Tarryn's sample and carried them both to the rack on their professor's desk.

"I have to say Mr. Lupin, your work has been rather exceptional in this class lately."

He beamed back at her. "Thanks. This one is Tarryn's." he mumbled, handing her the mottled liquidish substance.

"Oh believe me, I can tell." She said with a smile.

He laughed as he looked again at the disaster his friend had managed to brew.

"I wanted to tell you that I spoke with your Head of House."

Teddy's brow wrinkled in confusion, he hadn't done anything lately to be in trouble. "Alright."

"He mentioned to me that he was writing a letter of recommendation for you for a certain application you have to turn in."

Teddy nodded, still a bit confused. "Right, yeah, he is."

"He said that you mentioned that you didn't know who to ask to write the second and he suggested that I write it as this is one of your best subjects and you are the best in your year at it."

"Me, best in the year? There's no way…" he said, dumbfounded.

She laughed as she watched the last of the students stagger out of the room. "I assure you it is true, it has been since your third year. If you would like me to, I would be happy to write your recommendation, I know that this subject is a mandatory for the department and, though I doubt you know this, I was there for six years before coming back to Hogwarts. As of right now I am the only person to be accepted to the department right out of Hogwarts in the last fifteen years."

"You worked there?" he asked incredulously. "But you are so young!"

She laughed. "Well so are you. I trained there for two years, and then for the next four my job was specifically in inventing new potions and antidotes. As well as using potions for other…matters…Can't really talk about it, it is the Department of Mysteries for a reason. I decided that I missed working with more people, and I hate secrecy, it really wasn't a great place for me, so when Slughorn retired 5 years ago, I came here as potions master. Professor Longbottom thought that if I wrote the letter that it would be a good contact and connection to show. Since I do still make freelance potions for them in my spare time and over breaks."

"You…You would write it?" He asked, stunned.

"Teddy, you are a great student, and an incredible leader. You do great in my class and I do see how hard you work with your team, I would be happy to write it. Not to mention I may be the only professor to not have to give you detention this year." She joked. "I have nothing negative to write."

"Thank you, thank you so much." He said, sincerely.

She laughed again, "Let's just be thankful that potions was not a class you missed after that party of yours."

0o0o

Sitting in the front seat as his mum drove back to the manor from the platform, Teddy was slightly anxious to tell his parents that he had everything ready to send in for his application. He knew that they were being supportive but he was still nervous about it. Add in that this was the first time seeing his Uncle Bill since openly declaring that Victoire was his girlfriend and he was liable to jump off his seat.

"Son, are you alright?" Ginny asked, noticing his demeanor.

He nodded his head too quickly to have been being honest, "Yup, just, yup M' fine."

"You don't seem fine." She commented.

He not so subtly chewed on his thumb nail. "I'm good."

"How are classes going this term?" they had been notified more this term over Teddy than they had his entire time at Hogwarts.

"Oh, they are good, my marks are at least. I wish I could drop one or two for next year, but that isn't exactly possible I guess."

She frowned in response, she remembered how stressed Hermione had been when she over worked herself in school. "Do you have any plans for break?"

"Stay as far away from Uncle Bill as possible." He muttered under his breath.

After having raised four children though, Ginny was adept at picking up on his words. She laughed and patted his shoulder. "I don't think you need to worry about him son, we were already expecting this, remember the talk at Christmas?"

Teddy looked at her and scowled, "Because I could ever forget that moment." She laughed at his embarrassment. "Erm, what am I supposed to call him?"

"What do you mean? You call him Uncle Bill, you've always called him Uncle Bill…" she said, perplexed.

"Yeah, I know, but isn't it different if I am dating his daughter? I mean, kinda makes it a bit weird."

"It can't be any weirder than Harry had it. He was practically my mum's seventh son. When we broke up, he still came to my house that summer. And we weren't dating when my mum cried for him every night while he was off hunting down Voldemort. He might as well have been my brother. It was weirdest for Ron I think. He had a bit of an adjustment issue but he was it. Your dad was nervous around everyone for a bit though. It settled down soon enough, he was ridiculously moral about everything though, and he made me stick to the same standard because he didn't want anyone to be cross at him."

Teddy wrinkled his nose as he thought about his parents dating. "Is this you telling me I don't have to be moral about things with Vic?"

"It absolutely is not." She laughed, though she paled a bit when she was reminded of telling Victoire exactly that during a conversation over Anniversary break last year. Granted at the time she hadn't realized she was talking about her own son. "I guess this is your mum telling you that your relationship is yours alone, and you shouldn't let any of your family dictate it. We all support it, even your Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, in fact she is thrilled. The way you two conduct yourselves is up to you, not us, though I would, again as your mum, ask that you try and be respectful about it. And know that your uncles are still likely to take the mickey out of you about it."

"Mum, her mum was a triwizard champion who could possibly turn into an angry veela bird thing and throw fire at me, and her dad is a curse breaker, I'll be lucky if I am not too scared to smile at her in the family's presence."

Ginny laughed at her seventeen year old son. "So, are you going to tell me about this party that resulted in so many detentions? If I add up you and Vic you two got more detentions than she has classes."

"You definitely do not want to know about that. I think I got in enough trouble from the professors." He grumbled.

"Hey, you are forgetting, you are of age, you aren't in trouble if you drank, and I would be being pretty hypocritical if I said I never skipped a class or did something wrong. I came up with the name for your dad's illegal defense group in my fourth year, I broke into the ministry of magic, effectively skipping exams, and destroying half of an entire department in that same year. I broke into the headmaster's office and tried to steal a priceless school artifact, I lead the same aforementioned illegal group in my sixth year. And, well, in my seventh year I had to teach a rather embarrassing class to fifth years with your father and Aunt and Uncle." Teddy was looking at her as if she had lost her mind. "So anyways, I have no right to judge a few detentions, nor will I. So how was your birthday party?"

He smiled as he looked at his mum's grinning face. "It was good, what I can remember of it. It was all Tarryn and Vic's fault. I think they conspired against me."

Ginny was laughing as she parked in their drive. "I wouldn't doubt it one bit."

0o0o0o0o

They had been home for nearly five days before Teddy saw any of the family other than his own siblings and parents, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione and their two and his Gramma Andromeda and Grandpa. So when Easter dinner came about and everyone was meeting at the Burrow he was more than a bit nervous. From what he could tell from his Uncle Ron's ribbing, everyone knew about him and Victoire. He knew his family meant well, and he knew that there would likely be some lighthearted joking on their behalf, he was steeling himself for it though. In spite of his nerves, he hadn't seen Vic in five days! That was the longest they had spent apart since the Christmas holidays, actually, they hadn't even been apart that long then. This was the longest they had spent apart since the beginning of term. He hadn't realized how much he would miss her in such a short time. He was wondering how they would act around each other with the family being there, they hadn't thought to talk about it before.

His boisterous family of six was last to arrive that afternoon as he went through the floo holding Lily's hand. She had refused to be carried this time. After all, she was seven now, far too old to be carried, as she had told him when he picked her up when he first saw her. He entered into the kitchen and smiled happily when he used his own wand to clean himself and his little sister off. There was something oddly satisfying to get to use magic outside of school. He stumbled slightly when he was pulled into a close hug.

"Hi Grandmum." He grunted, as she squeezed him tightly.

"I swear you get taller everytime I see you! You have Remus' height in spades. Probably get it a bit from the Black's too, Sirius was always rather tall too, he was less skinny than you and Remus though. Aren't you eating up at that school?"

Teddy laughed, his tall and lean build has always been a source of argument between his grandmum and mum. As he got older he wasn't nearly as willowy and skinny as he had been as a child, but his clothing hid the quidditch muscles well. "I'm eating fine. Blame it on quidditch practice."

He scrunched his face when she kissed both of his cheeks and his nose, his hair involuntarily turned red. "I barely got to see you at Christmas baby boy. I missed my eldest grandson, you aren't allowed to stay away like that."

"Yes ma'am" he mumbled as she leant down and hugged her youngest grandchild. It was oddly sweet for the oldest and the youngest to be brother and sister.

"Victoire is running about here somewhere like a chicken with her head cut off. She has been waiting and watching the fire for you all day." She said with a small wink.

"I'll find her. Thanks Grandmum, and I missed you too."

Her eyes sparled as he made his way into the sitting room, likely to do his own search of the house for Victoire. James and Al were already engaging in jokes, chocolate eggs and prank candy with Uncle George, Hugo, Freddie, Roxxy and Dom when he entered. Lily had stayed behind in the kitchen to test out some of the pudding spread. His mum was currently trying to get Al to stand still so she could clean his face. He saw his dad walking down the hall, presumably to where the rest of his uncles were. He didn't follow him. Instead he leaned against the window ledge to laugh at James turning into a baby chick after eating some sort of chewy taffy.

"Food is ready!" came his Grandmother's voice, booming down the hall.

The resulting stampede of feet was nearly deafening. He had hold of Roxxy's shoulders as they waited for everyone to find their seats, it was lucky for her that he released her so she could take the seat next to Dom, as within seconds of almost everyone else sitting down he was nearly knocked off his feet by Victoire. He caught her when she flung herself into his arms, though he did take several steps backward to keep from falling.

"Where have you been?!" she squealed. "I have waited all day!"

"Uhm, I was at home?" he said, his voice muffled by her hair.

"That is unacceptable." She joked as she kissed his cheek and pulled back. He pushed her hair from his face and smiled.

"So I noticed. I take it you missed me?"

"Five days! Do you know how long that is?" she squawked.

He laughed as she hugged him again and kissed his other cheek. "I do, it was five days my time too."

"Vic, it wasn't a even a full week, let the boy sit down and eat!" came Bill's voice.

Teddy's whole self blushed, if his hair hadn't still been red from hugging his grandmother it would have turned red that minute. He had momentarily forgotten that the entire family was witnessing this little reunion.

"It felt like a year." Victoire grumbled, frowning as Teddy dropped his hands to his side, took a step back and looked at his feet. "It doesn't matter, I am never going to France without you again."

He choked slightly as she pulled him buy the shoulder of his shirt and pushed him into an empty chair beside his father, she sat in the unoccupied space beside him.

"How are you going to manage that?" he asked, still quite embarrassed.

Bill spoke from across the table, where he was spooning copious amounts of potatoes onto his plate. "Because she said your name so many times that her Grandmere has insisted that you come with us to visit her over the summer so her poor little Victoire won't be so tormented by leaving her boyfriend."

"Don't torment my grandchildren." Molly called down the length of the table.

Harry was trying not to laugh and ended up snorting and choking on his own meal, Ron was all out laughing, along with Charlie and George. Several of the Aunts, including his own mum were biting their lips to keep from giggling and embarrassing Teddy any more than he was. Victoire however seemed unfazed by the conversation.

"Like I said, never going without you again."

"Well this is a much better turn about from a year ago." George joked. "I'd much rather have Teddy red in the face from embarrassment than from yelling. He is much more fun this way."

Teddy looked up at his uncle and glared as menacingly as he could, which really wasn't much when you stopped to think that these men had all faced death eaters at one time or another.

"Thanks for that." He grumbled.

"Anytime little nephew, anytime." George replied as he picked up a roll and ate it happily. "So, who is going to fill us in on this huge Gryffindor party we hear from a very reliable source, was thrown in honor of a quidditch captain coming of age?"

At this both Victoire and Teddy fell quiet, lowered their faces and began to eat.

"It was SO much fun!" Roxxy gushed at her father. "There was punch and butterbeer and it was so loud and there was dancing."

"Yeah? Anything happen we should know about?" Ron asked, grinning at the look on both Teddy and Victoire's faces.

"Stop harassing your niece and nephew." Molly scolded, Ron did not look deterred, neither did anyone else for that matter.

"Hmmmm. Molly snuck Lysander in to the common room for the party. Lucy came too. And Dom and Louis, we all got to be there." Roxxy said.

"Why would you sneak Lysander in?" Percy asked, his ears slightly red. Penelope was holding back a giggle.

Molly was shooting daggers at Roxxy. Teddy saw the look in Roxxy's eyes and knew that this was her own version of revenge for Molly "stealing" her best friend.

"Because he's my boyfriend dad." She said bluntly, Molly never was one for subtlety.

Percy gagged on his lamb as Charlie smacked his back to help his brother out. The others were all chuckling at their niece's baldness.

"She reminds me of Ginny, that one does." Bill said with a grin.

"Merlin help me." Percy replied, looking from his baby sister to his baby girl, seeing all of the same spunk and fire.

"Don't worry about them Molls, they can be sticks in the mud at the best of times." Ginny said with a sweet smile on her face.

"Yeah, well Lucy danced with Tarryn and they kissed in front of everyone." Molly said scathingly, causing her father to nearly have a heart attack.

"WHAT!" he practically shouted.

Lucy glared at her sister as all of the adults, other than her father, laughed at the situation that had arisen from George's innocuous question. Teddy and Victoire just stayed silent, they were glad the spotlight had been turned from themselves and onto the younger girls.

"Thanks so much for that." She growled. "I'm fifteen years old daddy, plenty old enough to kiss a boy. Aunt Ginny was in fourth year too when she kissed a boy the first time."

Percy glared at his younger sister. "You are infecting my children!"

"Phaleahse. Don't feign innocence like that. I'm the one that caught you snogging in a broom closet, or did you forget?" she replied, this caused everyone to burst into laughter.

"Ginny don't tease your brother." Arthur said, grinning brilliantly.

"I think I would like to hear this story." Molly said with a grin, Lucy nodded along with her twin.

"NO!" came Percy and Audrey's voices. "This isn't about me, it's about you two."

Lucy scrunched her nose. "Dom kissed a boy too, and she is younger than me. Let's make it about her."

Bill's eyes liked to have fallen out of his head, he looked at his wife who grimaced, she obviously already knew.

"Yeah, well at least I went back to my room. Victoire and Teddy weren't seen from the point they left the common room, until noon the next day." She said, quickly deflecting the attention away from herself.

Victoire's spoon stopped half way to her mouth. She stared at her sister in shock. Teddy's head dropped into his hands and he whimpered. This really couldn't get much worse.

"Was that really necessary?" Victoire spat at her little sister.

Dominique shrugged her shoulders and ate a piece of lamb. "I thought so."

Teddy had yet to lift his head.

"We went back to our dorms, little Miss thing wouldn't know as she isn't in Gryffindor. We only went for a walk because the party got a little much to handle." Victoire defended.

"Yeah and Teddy got a little drunk." Molly said, laughing.

"Oh Merlin just stop." Teddy mumbled desperately.

"Sorry." Molly whispered, she really hadn't meant to say that out loud, and now the entire family was rather silent staring at the entire group of teens.

"You did not go back. You weren't at breakfast and none of your friends knew where you were, the professors had to wait hours to give you your detentions." Louis said simply.

"What did I ever do to you?" Victoire asked her little brother.

"Oh…." He glanced at his father's face and Teddy's mortified stature, his head still in his hands. "…Right, shutting up now."

"We did too go back. We just slept late because we were up late."

"Snogging." Dom said, pretending to cough.

"Seriously, I am going to kill you." Victoire growled.

Teddy finally looked up and at Bill, who had a rather bemused expression on his face as he looked at the pair in front of him, he then looked over to his own father who was grinning slightly. "You know, I think I preferred last year's dinner and subsequent punishment to this conversation. In fact, I am quite missing the children's table." He said dryly, as he looked into the sitting room where all of the non-Hogwarts kids were eating and discussing quidditch. Everyone at the table laughed at his sentiments.

"You know Vic," Charlie said with his rough voice. "Your dad got caught in the hallways in seventh year and had to teach my year all about the safety course." He said, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

Bill was glaring at his younger brother as his daughter burst into laughter.

"Don't worry about it Bill, from what I hear, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny taught it too." George said with a grin.

"WHAT!" Molly shouted, making everyone jump and the kids roar in laughter.

"Whatever, your wife kissed your brother first." Ron teased, making Angelina smack her own forehead and mutter mutinously.

Bill laughed loudly which made George glare at the eldest of his siblings.

"I wouldn't laugh Bill, yours did too. In fact, if we're counting Harry, she kissed two."

"Je vais vous tuer" Fleur said in rapid French, making all of her children laugh harder.

"Thank you for bringing me into this conversation." Harry grumbled while Ginny and Hermione laughed.

"Whatever happened to polite dinner conversations around here?" Molly asked the room at large as all of the children were laughing at their parents' embarrassment.

"We had children." Arthur told her sincerely.


	24. Chapter 24: Meeting Your Future

**_Thank you for all reviews and for reading!_**

**_For those of you who didn't read ATSR_**

**_A.S.F.- That is the Auror Special Forces, they specifically deal with dark wizards, death eaters, and dangerous activity. Harry helped Kingsley form them when Teddy was six and he is head of the department._**

**_Ron is head of the Original Auror department, I know a bit different than cannon but it fit well in ATSR :)_**

**_Last note I promise. I know it isn't on my profile anymore so a lot of you won't get the reference._**

**_In Before the Legacy, the prequel to Legacy (which is the two part (three really but one is being revamped) series that prequels ATSR- It is a James and Lily series)_**

**_ There are 8 Gryffindor boys that are in the same year as the marauders_**

**_They are the largest sorting class in history and an extra dorm is added to the tower for them._**

**_This is how Frank was in their year but not in their dorm._**

**_Also where a character comes from in this chapter. _**

**_I forgot I pulled that story for a bit until after I had this all written._**

Chapter Twenty-Four

**Meeting Your Future**

The sun had barely risen when Harry found Teddy in the kitchen, sitting on the counter in his usual spot, a bowl of cereal in his lap and staring out the window.

"Hey Little Man. Do you have plans today?"

Teddy rolled his eyes as his father. "Dad, I'm officially of age. I am pretty sure that little man doesn't apply any more."

Harry frowned. "I guess not, but old habits die hard you know."

Teddy laughed and nodded. "I promised to go flying with the boys, I think Freddie is coming over too, I was going to fire call Tarryn and see if he wanted to come give an impromptu beaters lesson with him."

"They will be thrilled." Harry said with a smile. "I had wanted to take you in to the office with me for the morning if you want to come."

Teddy smiled, he loved going into the ministry with his dad. The auror offices were always fun to be around. "Sure. Let me get dressed and I'll leave a note for the boys that I'll be back after lunch."

"You know, if your application is finished we can turn it in while we are there. Makes a better impression to do it in person. I will take you in if you want."

He looked at his father in surprise. "How did you know it was done?"

Harry laughed. "I didn't. I do know that Professor McGonagall sent this letter and told me to have you add it to your application. But the sooner we get it turned in, the longer they have to look at it without it being bogged down with other applications. Is your essay finished as well?"

"Yeah, I finished the essay a few days ago, Neville read through it for me, as did Flitwick, they said it was really good. But why did the headmaster send a letter? I already have my two reference letters, and all of my signatures." He said in confusion.

"I think she thought that an extra reference written by the headmistress of Hogwarts might help your application along. And I am pretty sure that it won't hurt anything for me to be the one to introduce you to the department head, though, we could always get King to do it too." Harry mused.

"You can introduce me to the head of the department of mysteries?"

Harry was laughing at the shocked look his son wore. "There are benefits to being the head of the A.S.F. I am rather well known around the ministry you know. Though like I said, if you would prefer the minister himself to do it, we can do that too. Go on, get a shower and get dressed. Wear nice robes! Not dress ones but nice ones. We are flooing in, so I wouldn't pick white."

Teddy jumped off the counter and drank his milk from the side of his bowl before dashing towards the door "Do I need to change my hair?" he asked as he poked his head back in.

Harry smiled at the turquoise spikey hair. "No, we are flooing, I don't think it will bother anyone to see you normal." Teddy grinned and set off at a run through the house.

An hour later Teddy followed his father out of a fireplace and into the main hall of the ministry. Both men charmed themselves clean and walked forward to the security desk where Harry motioned Teddy forward. Teddy handed the man his wand.

"Hi Harry how are you this morning?"

"I'm good Stuart, how are you?"

"No complaints here. Well look how grown you have gotten. You are taller than your dad." The light headed man said, smiling at Teddy.

"Hi Mister Stuart." Teddy said with an easy smile. He could remember this man from back when his mum would bring him for lunch when his Dad first started the A.S.F.

Stuart smiled, he remembered this kid from when he was a very little boy. Even from a few visits when Harry had stopped in right after the final battle with his infant Godson. He had been working the day Harry brought him in for the adoption papers, he remember the crazy amount of reporters he had been unable to hold off. That baby was no longer a baby, he was very nearly a man.

"What brings you into our ministry today lad?"

Teddy shrugged, though Harry answered for him "He is submitting his application for the intake for next years graduates."

"Wow, early submissions, you must have goals little mister Potter. What department."

Harry laughed and clapped Teddy on the back. "He isn't so little anymore is he? And it isn't a department he is allowed to profess his involvement in."

Stuart nodded his head in understanding as they bid him farewell and continued on towards the lifts. Teddy felt like his stomach was in his throat as they rode the lifts down. When they shuttered to a stop on level two he breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't going to the department of mysteries yet. Then again, would they actually go into the department? Surely not, his dad wouldn't be able to get into the department, even being head of the aurors. They stepped out and walked into the auror offices. Teddy looked around at the chaotic state of the different cubicles, organized and tidy was not a common trait for an auror. He followed behind, walking the familiar path to his dad's office easily. Harry said hello to several aurors and Teddy's Uncle Ron patted him on the back as they walked past his office before the door was pulled shut and Harry sat behind his oak desk.

Teddy looked around at the walls freely, letting his fingers run over the order of merlin on the wall, the one he had gotten after the war.

"You sure this is what you want to do?" Harry asked simply.

Teddy turned and watched him flip through the papers in his hands. He answered calmly. "I don't think I have ever been more sure of anything ever. I know this is what I want."

Harry's dark hair flipped about as he nodded then folded his hands, resting his chin on them. "That job, being an unspeakable, I know more than my fair share of them. It takes up a lot of their time. You aren't going to have much free time Ted, especially through the application and training process. Their trainees even go through two weeks of Auror academy to build up their defensive tactics incase they are ever kidnapped, taken hostage or captured by dark wizards."

"I can handle that." He assured his father.

"I know you can. I'm not doubting your abilities at all." He gazed into the slate gray eyes of his son, he wondered briefly when he started leaving his eyes their natural color. "In fact, that is the least of my concerns. I just want you to understand, you won't have much time for friends over the holiday, Vic included. For the next several years your life will be your job. Everything else, everyone else, will come second."

Teddy nodded, he knew this, he had researched this department as completely as he could. "I know, I will have to make sacrifices. Vic knows I am doing this, she has known since I was fourteen what I wanted to do. She is the one that told me I was bright enough to do it. Besides she has another year of school left and then has three years of training to be a healer. She is going to be busy too. We don't want to get married right out of school or anything. I mean, that's just not us at all. I barely know how to be a boyfriend, let alone a husband."

Harry grinned in response. "You are saying that now, but when you have been dating for a year or more you may be singing a different tune."

He shook his head. "This is the only thing I want to be. This is definitely what I want."

"Are you sure you're ready, once we turn it in, there's no going back, even if you want to change something, once it's done, it's done."

He looked down at the scrolls in his hands, running his finger over the seal that had them all rolled together. "I worked so hard on this. If it isn't good enough, than I'm not ready and they should turn me down. I couldn't make it better unless I let someone else write it. My reference letters are great, and all of my core professors signed the application, even Greyson signed it and he hates me."

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. "Professor Greyson. And I doubt he hates you."

"Oh I assure you, he does, he once gave me a detention in class because I wasn't paying attention so he asked me a transfiguration question to throw me off and I was so confused I didn't know what to say." He grumbled.

"But had you been paying attention he wouldn't have been able to confuse you." Harry chuckled.

Teddy scowled. "Are you trying to say you never spaced out in defense class?"

"Well maybe in potions, but not defense." Harry said, still laughing.

"Mhhhnmmmm. What about that Umbridge woman Uncle Ron told me about?"

"Leave it to your Uncle to tell you about the one Professor that outright defied."

"What about Snape?"

Harry sighed, "I didn't ever really defy him per say."

Teddy was full out laughing now. "No not at all, you just hexed him into a wall with three wands."

"What all did your Uncle tell you!" Harry said, exasperated as Teddy laughed.

"He gets talkative when helping me with revision during the holiday, I think it is his way of procrastinating."

"He always was best at that. Though, if I'm honest, I was just a good at it in my day." He looked down at his battered watch.

"We only have twenty minutes until I told Connor I was coming by."

"He knows we're coming!" Teddy practically squealed.

"Of course, he is the head of the Department of Mysteries, catching him in his office is hard to do. He is expecting us, well to be honest, I had to stop by anyways and he knows that even with clearance, I don't go down there, so he agreed to meet us both in his office." He cocked an eyebrow as Teddy seemed to hyperventilate for a minute. "You have to settle down son. You can't be frantic when you talk to him or you are going to sound like an infatuated student rather than a serious job applicant."

"I know, I know. I just. This kind of came up suddenly. I wasn't prepared to turn this in by hand, I was going to send it off on my last day of break."

Harry shrugged and stood, "First impressions are better made in person. If this is what you want to do, then I am going to help you get the best shot at it. Come on, better to be early with him than late. Merlin knows I don't need a telling off."

Teddy chuckled lightly, what wizard in their right mind would tell off his father? The hero of the wizarding world? As they walked into the lowest level of the bowels of the ministry Teddy could visibly see Harry get tense. He had only seen him this stressed on few occasions, and none of them were pleasant. He was normally pretty unphasable, and usually in a carefree mood. He knew from his aunt's and uncles that this wasn't always so, but ever since he had known him, his dad had been fun and lighthearted. This version that was shooting daggers at the long corridor to the right. Teddy turned his head to look down, thinking someone had to be there but all that stood there was a harmless door at the very end. Before he got a chance to assuage his curiosity he felt his robes be tugged and he was pulled away from the long hall and to a set of four doors a bit farther down the main hall and to the left. He watched his father rap his fist on the glass pane of the dark wood door, it looked just like his father's door only it obviously belonged to someone else. He tried to calm his nerves and forced himself to read the neat printing that decorated the frosted glass.

**Connor Kent**

**Department of Mysteries**

**Head Unspeakable**

Prior Appointment Required

He was actually familiar with that last line. It was also printed on his dad's, his Uncle Ron's and his Uncle Percy's doors. The door opened suddenly of its own accord and Harry stepped through. Teddy took a deep breath and followed, reminding himself to calm down.

"Harry. I was expecting you." The man said from behind the desk. He wasn't what Teddy expected, his hair was a bit shaggy and it was a honey brown color, slightly sprinkled with gray. His cinnamon colored eyes seemed to smile when he smiled up at his father. Teddy had expected him to look more fierce, maybe that had been his own fears speaking.

Harry laughed. "I know you were. I didn't want to leave this with anyone, I thought you should see it directly." He said, more seriously. Teddy looked down and for the first time saw an ornamented box, he hadn't even seen it in his father's hands before this moment. He really needed to remember to try and learn his stealth techniques.

The head unspeakable nodded and as suddenly as the box appeared, it disappeared. The man looked up at Teddy and his smile returned. "Well I would know you with Blue, Black, Red or blonde hair. If you aren't the image of your father."

Teddy looked uncertainly at Harry, who grinned and added softly. "Your other father."

Teddy's eyes shot back to the man behind the desk. "I was a Gryffindor with Remus. We were in the same year." He explained.

"I thought he was in the same year as Sirius, and James, and…and…Peter?" Teddy questioned, he had never heard of any others.

Harry and Connor both nodded. "He was, they all shared a dorm. We were the largest Gryffindor sorting in history, then and now. An extra dorm was added to the tower, there were four of us in our dorm, myself, Frank Longbottom, Alec Wood, Connor Kent, and Richie Johnson. I believe you are friends with my nephew in fact. If I am not mistaken you were his quidditch captain in his last year."

"Rory?" Teddy asked, the last name finally making sense.

"That's the one. I have also heard an awful lot about you from my Godson Oliver, you are friends with his son."

"You know Ollie? He's my best friend!" he said, shocked.

"The very one and the same, but I know all about them. I want to hear about you Mr. Potter, or do you prefer Lupin?"

Teddy shrugged. "I go by both, honestly. It is technically Potter-Lupin, but everyone just usually picks one and goes with it. It makes quidditch commentary quite confusing if you don't know who I am."

Harry and Connor both laughed at the very true assessment. "Well, Mr. Potter-Lupin, I understand that you have an application for me?"

He nodded in response as he glanced at his father who was taking the moment to sit in the brushed leather wingback chair that sat next to the wall. "Yes, yes sir I do." He handed him the tightly rolled scroll and the smaller separate scroll that bore the Hogwarts crest. "I'm sorry about the separate one, I didn't realize I was going to have that letter. I had already sealed my application."

Connor nodded as he broke the seal of the thinner parchment, he briefly glanced over at Harry and then back up to Teddy's face as he read the letter from Minerva McGonagall, the very woman who had taught him in Hogwarts as well.

"Tell me Teddy, why do you want to work in the Department of Mysteries. I can think of many things that you would likely be well suited for, and all of them would be preferable to your father here, I can guarantee that."

He heard a small sigh from the chair to his side, but did not look over. "With all due respect sir, to you and my father. But my life is a far cry different than his was. We have our similarities, but we aren't anywhere close to the same person. I love my dad. I think that everything he has ever done is incredible, right down to teaching me to tie my shoes, and how to muffliato people so they can't hear you talking in class, but I have different goals than he does, or did. I want to be an unspeakable, and even if I can't do it now, I will succeed at it one day."

Harry and Kent smiled, it was Kent who spoke. "This one has spunk Potter."

Harry laughed. "They all do, Merlin help you if you ever have to have a conversation with James and Albus at the same time."

"I don't doubt it. So Teddy" he said as he opened the thicker set of scrolls and leafed through them. "Just because I am insanely curious, after all if you are accepted into the application process we will get farther into what your area of study is then. Do you have something specific that you are interested in studying? Most of us do afterall. An area of expertise shall we call it."

Teddy shuffled his feet in response, he was a bit nervous in answering this in front of his father. "I do."

"Would you care to fill me in on what it is?" the older man said with a slight grin.

He glanced over at Harry, noticing the questioning look on his face as well. He hadn't talked about this with anyone other than Ollie and Vic. "I have no expertise in anything right now, obviously. But, I want to do research into Love, and Death, specifically how the two relate."

Connor looked at Harry with a wry smile. Harry seemed stunned, if not nervous.

"If I didn't know better Harry, I'd say the kid had your actual blood running through his veins, he has spirit. And I love the defiant streak."

Harry shook his head as he looked at his son and godson, speechless, "I know, of all the things to rub off, honestly."


	25. Chapter 25: Fast

**_Posting and extra update in honor of_**

**_Memorial Day!  
Take that Voldemort!_**

**_Happy May 2nd!_**

Chapter Twenty-Five

**Fast**

When Harry got home from work that evening it was to find all three boys outside on the quidditch pitch, accompanied by Freddie, Tarryn and Ollie. Ginny was standing along the sideline leaning against her own broom. Parker was sitting on the ground nearby thumbing through a book while Lily sat next to him, brushing her doll's hair.

"Hey pretty princess, what are you doing?"

"Fixing Emma's hair." She said sweetly as he lifted her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"She looks brilliant." He kissed her cheek. "Hey Parks, what are you up to?"

The light blonde headed preteen looked up and smiled his sweet smile. "Hey Uncle Harry. I am reading about Merlin, the real one, the actual wizard." He clarified.

"I can honestly say I have never really looked into him." Harry replied with an answering grin. "So what are the other boys up to?"

"Quidditch. You know Jamie and Albie had to play with Teddy before he went back to school tomorrow." Lily responded, looking back down at her doll.

He couldn't resist kissing her fiery hair. She was so different than he had ever imagined she would be. He always envisioned a small version of Ginny running around. She did look like her mother, an exceptional amount, with the exception of the freckles. Her skin was a soft creamy color, only a few freckles dotted her nose. Her personality however was more that of Fluer than Ginny. She loved to shop, and was immensely prissy. She adored her big brothers, but rather than striving to be like them, or beat them at something, she delighted in using her charm to make them play dolls, or tea party, or dress up. Something they all did willingly. Lily held no interest in quidditch. She would watch her brothers for a minute and then was completely over it, something that Harry and Ginny both found strange in one of their children. However, she had inherited her mother's quick whit and snappy mouth. At seven she already could get her own self into trouble for smarting off just as much as her older counterparts. He smiled down at her and carried her towards the pitch, listening to the boys as he did so.

"Come on Teddy, please teach me how to do it." James was begging. Al was hanging in midair watching the pair along side of Ollie, while Tarryn batted a bludger back and forth at the other end with Freddie.

"Jamie, that is really hard to do. And these brooms are really fast. I don't think it's a good idea." Teddy answered, looking worriedly at his little brother.

"If you don't think I can do it just say so." James spat, Harry chuckled, thinking of Teddy's statement earlier in the morning.

Teddy winced and sighed. "If you get hurt it isn't my fault."

Harry didn't like the sound of that as he sidled up to his wife who was frowning slightly.

"What are we teaching James to do?" he asked before kissing her cheek.

"That jump that Teddy did over his own chaser at the last game."

"Ahhh, I don't know why I even asked, he has been talking about that since we saw the match."

Ginny nodded and folded her arms as she watched Teddy fly off at full speed to the other end of the pitch. "Do we let him teach it?"

Harry shrugged. "It's that or Jamie is going to sneak out here and break his neck trying to do it himself to prove that he can. He is too much like you."

She chuckled and nodded, knowing that he was right. They both watched nervously as Teddy turned back around to face James from fifteen feet or so away, knowing what was coming Ollie grabbed the end of Al's broom and pulled him off to the sidelines where they landed to Harry's left.

"Oi, T! Get off the pitch and stun the bludger!" he yelled, pointing to Teddy and James.

Recognizing the position that Teddy had taken, Tarryn guided Freddie to the sideline as well, stunning the bludger to a standstill and catching it as he went. James was looking nervously at the two older boys as they moved off the pitch, he looked back to Teddy.

"Alright Jamie, fly at me, fast as you can go. And do not veer away from me, I am not teaching you to do it changing directions today." Teddy yelled.

James bravely nodded his head and charged full speed at his much older and much bigger brother. Teddy shot forward, heading straight for him, when it looked like they were going to collide face first and James actually yelped Teddy suddenly stood on his broom handle and Jumped right over James, as he flew into the air his broom dropped a few feet, went under James and once he was clear he landed back on his feet before dropping back down to sit on it.

"Bloody hell!" James yelled.

Neither Harry nor Ginny reprimanded him. Both of them were equally shocked and terrified.

"You weren't moving like that at the match! That was so fast!" James said.

"That's because I was jumping my own team mate, and he was a stationary player, I designed this to scare an opponent and get him to drop the quaffle into Ollie's hands, who if we were playing would have been flying under you to intercept. Every single move that I make is tracked by my chasers just like I track every move they make. To be a good chaser you have to watch your team and know their flying better than you know your own."

"He really is a good captain, where do you think he learned to play like that?" Ginny asked, watching as Ollie and Tarryn jumped back on their brooms and joined the other two, to help James learn the move. Freddie and Al flew over slowly, watching as well.

"He learned it from you Gin."

"No way!" she protested.

Harry laughed and nodded. "He did. Think about it, I am purely a seeker, I rarely pay attention to what anyone else on my team is doing. Short of knowing when to go after the snitch and when to defend against it being caught I don't pay attention to the chasers at all."

"Alright, Ollie is going to help you. He helped me learn to do it so don't be scared. Watch how I do it with Tarryn and then you do the same thing."

"I'm not scared." James protested, sliding closer to Ollie to show that he was ready.

All three of the older boys laughed. "Good, now hold Ollie's hand with one of yours."

0o0o0o

Standing in front of the crimson steam engine, Teddy threw his bag over his back. He hugged Albus and then Lily, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He forced James into a quick hug against his will and ruffled his crazy hair.

"You know this is the last time you ride to school without me." James said, bouncing excitedly.

"You're right. I can't believe it happened so fast. I had better make this one extra peaceful." Teddy replied with a wink.

"Git." James muttered.

"Prat." Teddy shot back as he let Harry pull him into a hug and Ginny kiss his cheek.

"Behave, and study. Your exams are in just a few weeks. You will have a mini break in four and a half weeks. Memorial Day falls on a Tuesday so you have Saturday thru Wednsday off of classes and we are bringing you all home on Friday night." Harry said.

Teddy nodded and prepared to turn for the train when someone smaller collided with him and wrapped her arms around his waist from the side. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her small shoulder.

"That goes for you too Victoire, behave and study hard, you have your OWLS."

"Yes Sir." She said, grinning when Teddy kissed the side of her head without thinking about it.

"Go on before you miss the train!" Ginny told them both when the train whistled.

"And stop kissing girls in front of us, that's gross!" Al called after them, making several people in the crowd laugh. Teddy turned quickly and stuck out his tongue at his youngest brother.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

He was sitting at breakfast studying his bacon when he felt a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Good morning." Victoire said as she sat down next to him, her long blonde hair flipping over her shoulder.

"Hey beautiful." He replied looking into her eyes.

"You two are sickeningly sweet, you know that?" Rhyan said as she sat down on Victoire's other side.

"Says the one who's boyfriend left a rose on the bottom step for her this morning." Victoire teased.

"He left a rose on the bottom step?" Teddy asked, picking a muffin off of his girlfriend's plate.

"Yep, with a note that he would be in the library until practice. He enchanted it to keep people from stepping on it."

"Sorry Rhy, he wins hands down, that is ridiculously sappy." Teddy said, wrinkling his nose.

Rhyan laughed in agreement as Victoire stole her half eaten muffin back. "Should I resign myself to not seeing you today?" she asked, knowing that with April winding down Ollie and Teddy had reduced themselves to studying for exams in any free time, Tarryn even joined them every once in a while. She herself had started cracking down on studying with her owls coming up. She hadn't seen much of her boyfriend.

"I need to work on Herbology, but I need to be in a greenhouse to do what I need to do and I haven't gotten around to seeing if Neville will give me a pass during a break to use them. We have quidditch at two until six then dinner and then I need to finish my arithmancy essay. Which means I should probably talk to Neville about the greenhouses and try and use them now before lunch, we only have a fortnight until…"

His speech was cut off as a very official looking letter dropped onto his plate and the brown owl flew off as quickly as it came. He stared at the letter like it was a bomb for several minutes until Victoire picked it up and looked at it. He turned his face to hers, all of the color had drained from it.

"Do you want me to open it for you?" she asked, looking at the seal. "It's from The Department of Mysteries."

He nodded. "I know who it's from. I'll, I'll open it. I just…I can't believe they sent a reply so fast." He said numbly as she handed it back to him.

The two girls watched as he broke the purple wax seal and opened it, his hands were shaking. He was silent as his eyes ran down the page and he read.

_0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~_

_Theodore Remus Potter-Lupin,_

_I am pleased to welcome you into the Department of Mysteries Application program. _

_As a sixth year Hogwarts student your application process will take place over the next summer and school term, ending with the final results of your NEWT examinations. All of your examinations that take place at the end of this term and next will be directly forwarded to this office for approval. A substandard mark will result in the end of your application process._

_You will be required to come into the Ministry on Tuesday May 2nd to fill out the proper paperwork for clearance into the department. _

_You are due in the office of Castion Lynch at 8 am on the Monday June 17th, you will be expected in these offices every morning henceforth until Friday August 16th. _

_We look forward to working with you._

_Connor Kent_

_Department Head_

_0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~_

Teddy was stunned as he stared at the letter in his hands.

"Do we get to know what that says?" Victoire asked, breaking through his shock.

He handed her the letter and watched her face as she read it. At the first sentence her face lit up, Teddy knew exactly when she got to the part about his lack of summer break when that smile fell and she still tried to hold it on her face.

"Teddy, this is wonderful. I am so proud of you." She said, her voice only slightly hitched.

"France…I-I'm sorry Vic." He said quietly, and he truly meant it.

She shook her head. "Don't be silly. We have all the time in the world for you to come with me to France. But this is huge, it's what you have wanted forever. You do still want this right?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"I do. I really really do." He assured her.

"Then act like it silly. You just got into the application program that you have been dreaming of since you were like thirteen. Be happy."

He couldn't help it, his face broke into a true smile. He took the letter in one hand and pulled her towards him with the other. "Screw Herbology, how do you feel about spending the morning with me until practice?"

She laughed and leaned her forehead against his. "What about OWLS and exams, this letter says that you have to get…"

"I know what it says. I will do fine, and you will do fine. Tell you what, we'll grab our books and study together."

She laughed as she pulled back and took a bite of her cereal. "Because that ever works."

He smiled. "I don't care, spend this morning with me."

She grinned and leaned into kiss his cheek. "I never said no, I said it was going to affect our studying negatively."

0o0o0o0o

The next week found Teddy and Victoire more often than not, apart. Between quidditch, her needing strong OWLS to continue with NEWTS that were required of a healer, her rounds as a prefect, and him needing outstanding marks on his own exams they saw very little of each other. Excluding meals on the off chance that both of them ate that meal.

Tonight Teddy was wandering in from quidditch late. It was Friday and they had pushed practice back until 7 that night to allow everyone time to get some studying in and time to eat, something that Teddy did not take the opportunity to do. Instead he had finally gotten into the greenhouses after classes and worked on his herbology issues. Ollie and Tarryn had accompanied him to the kitchens after the three of them did an extra run after practice, putting them back into the dorm around midnight, they were using Ollie's position as a prefect to keep themselves out of trouble should they get caught since Teddy had forgotten the map.

"Do you think it is entirely necessary to have practice tomorrow?" Tarryn asked.

"We have this weekend, next week, then we go home for four days, we have three days, and then the final match. What do you think?" Teddy replied quietly as he followed him into their room.

"Well, I was actually thinking that your girlfriends would appreciate time with the two of you, seeing as they appear to be asleep in your beds." He hissed in response. "I am sure mine would like to see me as well, seeing as she can't exactly sneak into my room and all."

Teddy looked up instantly and smiled sadly at the sight of Victoire laying on her stomach on his bed, sleeping soundly with her books around her. Rhyan was laying similarly, still in her quidditch warmups from practice. He felt immensely guilty, they had told her they would be back in the tower quickly, it had taken them more than two hours to get back from when practice actually ended. He ran his hand down his face and glanced over at their other two dorm mates Stephen and Blake. Both of whom were asleep and didn't seem fussed over the girls presence given that they each had fallen asleep with their own homework on their beds. If Teddy had to guess he would say they had all been working together when they lost the ability to see straight and fell asleep.

"Do we wake them up?" Ollie asked quietly, pulling his trainers off and sitting them soundlessly by the door.

Teddy shook his head. "No, we can change in the bathroom and just let them stay. They look worn out."

"And you would rather sleep in bed with your girlfriend than in bed alone with her smell on your sheets." Tarryn joked softly as he grabbed his pajamas out of his trunk and tiptoed to the bathroom.

"Well, that too." Teddy admitted as he tried to quietly dig through his own trunk.

After a quick shower and changing he was climbing into bed and pulled his hangings closed around himself once he had removed all of the books and scrolls. He lay down and shifted around, trying to get comfortable, he wasn't used to wearing a shirt to bed, but with Rhyan in the room too he had put one on. Sighing in defeat he rolled towards Victoire with his stomach to her back and lay his arm over the curve of her waist.

"You're back." She mumbled, rolling over to bury her face in his chest. "Since when do you sleep in a shirt." She frowned.

He quickly reached out of the hangings and grabbed his wand casting a silencing charm over his bed.

"Since there are girls sleeping in here with me." He teased, he kissed her nose. "I thought you were sleeping?"

He moved his arms as she pulled his shirt off him and threw it to the bottom of the bed. "I don't like it." She grumbled and lay her head down on his chest. "And I was but you woke me up moving around."

"I can't sleep shirtless Vic, Rhyan is still in Ollie's bed." He said, though he pulled her closer and wiggled his hand until it was under the hem of her shirt. He ran his fingers over her lower back softly.

She moaned happily into his skin. "Put it back on before you get out of bed. I like you this way. I miss you."

"I miss you too." He kissed her hairline. "But in a few weeks it will be summer holiday."

"And I still won't get to see you." She whispered.

He let out a soft breath. "It won't be as bad as you think. I am only an applicant, they won't keep me there all night, I will be off on weekends and there will be no quidditch practice or studying." He said.

"You have been hit by one too many bludgers if you think there will be no studying. And let's be real Teddy, you will still practice at least three times a week at home."

He said nothing because he knew she was right. "Do you know that I love you?" he asked.

"I think you have told me once or twice." She murmured, trying not to sound as sad as she felt.

"I do, I really do. I don't like not getting to see you either. I am sorry this is all happening so quick. It is going to be similar in your seventh year, when you apply for the healing program. It seems worse because we are in school still, and have so much going on. When we are both out of school, and can spend our extra time together without hundreds of other people, it will be a bit easier. I promise."

"That's two and a half years away. I am having a hard time after a few weeks and it hasn't even really started yet."

"Oh it's started, it has definitely started." He took his hand from her back and cupped her face before kissing her softly. "Vic, we waited fifteen years to realize we wanted to be together. We can handle these next few years."

Somehow she managed to push herself farther into his embrace, entwining her legs with his. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."


	26. Chapter 26: Memorial Birthdays

**_If there are any errors here,_**

**_I was rushing to get It up._**

**_I got it up an hour too late to get it on the actual day but I really tried._**

**_Happy Birthday Victoire._**

Chapter Twenty-Six

**Memorial Birthdays**

"I'm ready." Teddy said standing up and walking away.

Harry turned his head and watched him as he walked towards the small house over the hill. They had only been there for three or four minutes. He turned back to the headstone and knelt down, placing his hand on the sun warmed stone, he traced the names with his finger.

"I can't believe it has been seventeen years since I last saw you. Since you last saw Teddy. He is all grown up. He isn't that little baby that you left behind, anymore. He is going tomorrow to get identification for a job at the ministry. I am pretty sure he is going to marry Victoire, or at least that he wants to. He is a fantastic big brother. And he.."

"DAD!" Teddy's insistent voice yelled.

"Is very impatient as you can see. His girlfriend turns sixteen today, I think he is anxious to see her. I better get going before he apparates without me. I hope you are proud of the man that your little baby has become. I know that I am."

"They would be proud of the man that you are too." Came Teddy's voice from right behind him.

Harry turned to smile at the seventeen year old. "You think so?" he asked, showing insecurity for one of the first times that Teddy could remember.

He nodded his head. "Are you kidding? I have read so many books on the war and the final battle. I have read my dad's journals from when mum was pregnant with me. When they died you were like this full throttle, give it all, sporadic, crazy over emotional teenager. You didn't  
have a shred of concern for your own well being anywhere in your body. My dad wrote about being scared for you nearly as much as he did me. Since then, you have defeated the darkest wizard of all time, gotten married, helped revolutionize early wizard learning and the way muggleborns are treated and taught. You helped create an entirely new type of auror and lead the department. You have raised four kids all of which somehow act eerily similar to you and are dangerously careless. But we are all essentially good kids. I mean, I have had my fair share of detentions, but come on, who hasn't. Neither of my fathers can claim to have a clean Hogwarts record, in fact I am sure mine beats both of yours."

"You are an exceptionally good kid. And I couldn't be prouder of who you turned out to be." Harry said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "And you are right, you have had far less detentions than either myself or Remus could ever have dreamed of. I blame James' and Sirius' influence."

They began their walk up the hill towards the small house from where they would apparate, Teddy was laughing. "You can't blame James and Sirius for your detentions, they weren't there to influence you." He argued.

Harry kicked at the grass, "Let's just say I inherited enough from them both to make a lasting difference."

Teddy was still laughing as he bent to pick up a rock and throw it. "Sirius wasn't related to you by blood you know, you can't inherit stuff from him."

"And yet, oh Godson of mine, you seem to have done a fine job inheriting several of my own qualities."

Teddy laughed harder at the statement. "That is a very true story."

0o0o0o0o

Teddy practically sprinted away from him to the edge of the rocky beach once they apparated onto the lane at Shell Cottage where the rest of the family was already gathered for Victoire's 16th birthday party. He smiled at the sounds of laughter from behind the house. Bill and Fleur had both offered on several occasions to have her parties the day after her birthday but everyone insisted that Victoire had given them joy on this day all those years ago and she would continue to do so.

Today was surprisingly warm and a clear blue skyline greeted the party. Many of her friends had come from school. As he walked farther onto the beach Harry could see Ollie, wearing shorts, with Rhyan perched on his back, laughing happily as he splashed about in the edge of the frothy water, Harry knew it had to be more than a bit cool. Tarryn was goofing off with Molly, Lucy, Lysander, Dominique and Lorcan in the garden. James appeared to be splashing about knee deep in the water, along with Roxxy, Louis and most of the younger cousins. There were several more girls around Victoire's age that were all sitting at the edge of the Cliffside overlooking the water below, chattering happily to each other. It was there that he saw the sun glinting off of Vic's white blonde hair, obviously the target to which Teddy was running.

"That was fast." Arthur said, walking up to him.

Harry nodded as he watched Teddy sit down behind Victoire and rest his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah, he wasn't interested in staying very long this year. Honestly, had I not insisted on going before the party he may not have even went this year." He said, worriedly.

"He's a kid, son. He doesn't think about it the same as we do. I don't remember you ever thinking to ask to go to Godric's Hollow when you were a teenager. I am sure you thought about going, but you never asked anyone to take you." Arthur pointed out.

"Yeah, it's just, I have taken him there at least three or four times a year, his whole life. This is the least interest he has ever shown."

His father in law nodded towards the beach where Teddy was now pulling Victoire into the water, they were both laughing hysterically and their smiles could be seen even from here. "I think that she interests him more than anything these days. I remember that feeling, and if you will think back to the summer after the war, at nearly this exact time in your own life, you will remember that you were like this once too. I will never forget the healing powers you and Gin had on each other."

"They are more carefree than we ever were." He commented.

"That is exactly what his parents were fighting for."

0o0o0o0o0o

The kids were all sitting on the cliff having finished eating their fill of dinner and cake. The chatter was such that you couldn't focus on any one conversation as there were at least ten going on at any given time. And most of them were just starting to warm up from the warming charm that the older wizards had placed over the area after they all got into an epic water fight. Fleur was levitating the presents once at a time to her eldest daughter while everyone watched her open them.

"Thank you Uncle George and Auntie Angie." She called out as she messed with a charmed brush that would style her hair with one swipe.

Teddy watched as she picked up a thin small rectangular box, wrapped in shimmery pink paper and a silver bow.

"This one hasn't got a name on." She called out, waiting for someone to tell her who it was from. When there was no response she looked back down at the package curiously.

"Open it up, maybe there is a note inside." Bill said, nodding at the gift.

She shrugged and opened it, pulling off the lid once the wrappings fell away. Nestled inside was a sporty wrist watch. It had a light pink leather band and the face was a dark metallic pink rimmed in diamonds.

"I thought watches were your seventeenth?" she said, looking up at her mum and grandmother.

"It isn't from us." They said in unison, making both of them giggle.

She pulled it from the box and looked closely at it. Teddy nudged her shoulder from where he was sitting beside her. "Turn it over." He said softly.

She did as he requested and read the inscription on the back,

_I'll always have time enough for you_

She turned and smiled brilliantly at him before kissing him quickly on the lips, making him blush.

"I want to know what he put on it to make her smile like that." Bill muttered to Harry and Ron who both laughed.

"Don't thank me yet. I will show you how to work it when no one is watching." He whispered to her.

She giggled, "I know how to work a watch."

"Not that one you don't. Just wait a bit and you will see." She nodded as he helped her put it on her wrist, and then continued on to open the rest of her gifts.

Once all of the packages were gone and all the thank yous were finished everyone went back to their messing about as they waited for it to get late enough for George to start up the fireworks that he had already set up at the base of the cliff below. Teddy was standing, leaning against the side of the cottage, Victoire with her back to his chest.

"Hold your wrist up here." He said, holding out his hand. She obliged and lifted her arm while she watched the setting sun shimmer off of the pink face. "I got this, because time has been an issue with us recently, and I am afraid it is just going to get worse in the next few months." She nodded sadly, but said nothing "I bought the watch, but I also charmed it and made some changes on my own." He held up his own wrist that had the sports watch that he always wore on it. "I changed mine too. Touch your finger to the face of the watch." He watched as she pressed her forefinger to the crystal. His face was inches from here ear as he whispered the instructions. "Say my name."

"Teddy." She said softly, and watched at the face changed from pink to a perfectly clear mirror that was reflecting the night sky, until Teddy lifted his own arm to his face and he was reflected in her watch.

"Hey beautiful." He whispered, she heard it from her wrist.

"How did you do this!" she asked awed at the gift.

He shrugged as he showed her that he could see her in his watch too. "I got the idea when I saw my Grandpa James' and Sirius' mirrors. My dad keeps the full mirror that used to belong to Sirius and the shard of a mirror that Sirius gave him up on the mantle in his office. I saw them over Easter break. When we were having issues seeing each other, it just clicked. This way we can talk to each other in different dorms or in between classes or while we are studying separately. This is what I spent so much time working on there at the end of the week. You don't think I was just studying for exams did you? There is a reason that I am not the sixth year prefect."

"Teddy it is amazing, I love it." She stammered.

"Not nearly as much as I love you. Happy Birthday Vic."

Her back was still against his chest as he kissed her cheek. He watched from the side as she flushed, it was evident even in the dim light of dusk. Both of them were so absorbed in each other, neither one noticed the many adults that were just realizing how serious this relationship was. And how much both Teddy and Victoire were invested in each other. They stayed quiet until the fireworks display started when Victoire finally broke the silence.

"Can we stay in the room of requirement on Saturday after the match?" she asked.

"If we win there is likely to be a party." He reminded her. "It is the cup after all.

"I was thinking we could celebrate for a few minutes and then have our own celebration. It can be a joint happy birthday and champion quidditch captain celebration."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Several things come to mind." She whispered.


	27. Chapter 27: Unpartied Parties

**_Sorry I started a new Lily James concept and it has consumed me :)_**

**_At this rate by the time I post it, it will be complete lol._**

**_I am not going to put it up until I complete A Godfather's Gift._**

**_BUUUTTTT I did post a special Mother's Day one shot for Molly_**

**_Hope you like this chapter_**

**_Rate M Warning at the end_**

Chapter Twenty-Seven

**Unpartied Parties**

He had the chair leaned back on two legs, thinking about how to escape the party on Saturday.

"You look incredibly deep in thought." Came Ollie's voice from behind him before his chair was forced farther back and he was looking up into Tarryn's eyes.

"We need your help." Tarryn said bluntly.

"What, no hello, how is our best mate doing? We have missed seeing you around the castle since we are always doing homework, stop practicing us until we fall asleep on the pitch? You just go straight for needing something? I feel so used." Teddy teased.

"Har Har, funny boy. Don't quit the department of Mysteries, you'll never make it as a comedian." Ollie said.

"We know that you are planning on skipping the party Saturday." Tarryn said.

"If there is one." Teddy hedged.

"If we don't win I will eat my lucky socks. Help us, we need to spend time with our girlfriends before they break up with us."

"Seriously mate, we have more intimate relationships with our broomsticks, we certainly spend more time with them." Ollie plead.

Teddy laughed in reply. "I will help, but only if T promises to eat his socks either way."

Both boys joined in his laughter and sat down at the table.

"Where do we go?" Ollie asked.

"Well, what if we all go somewhere together?"

"Mate, I adore you, best mate and captain ever. But I don't want to do any snogging in front of you." Tarryn said seriously.

"Not what I meant." Teddy replied shaking his head, his teal hair flipping about. "I was thinking about sneaking off the grounds after the match, I have a way into my family's old Hogsmede house. We could all go there, hang out, and…well there are three bedrooms, I think we will all fair just fine with a few well-placed silencing charms."

"You can get into the Hogsmede house!" Ollie said excitedly.

Teddy nodded with an evil grin on his face.

"That's where you two disappear off to." Tarryn said suddenly.

"Well, only three of the times, the rest of the times we are around the castle. If we can get away on Friday night we can sneak into Hogsmede first and put some food in the kitchen. There aren't any beds in the rooms upstairs though." He said thoughtfully.

"We could conjure them." Ollie said with a shrug.

"I don't know about you, but if I conjure a bed and go to sleep, or worse get distracted, I am going to be lying on a heap on the floor. Not the best memory to leave her with." Tarryn pointed out.

"Lalalalalal lalalalal that is my little cousin you are talking about." Teddy chanted, holding his hands over his ears and trying not to imagine one of his best mates snogging his fifteen year old cousin.

"Are there blankets and things? If there are we can always enlarge them and we can just kip on the floor. I don't fancy seeing what would happen if I got erm… distracted while on a bed I conjured either." Ollie admitted.

"I dunno, there is a couch. We haven't really hung around upstairs much. Looks like we are making a trip on Friday after practice."

"Rhyan will be suspicious." Ollie pointed out.

"We can fake a detention…" Tarryn suggested.

Teddy laughed, knowing that they would go with Tarryn's idea "Nothing like leading up to a quiet romantic day away with a lie."

0o0o0o0oo

Unfortunately for the three boys, practice on Friday ended late and with a beyond frustrated Teddy. His new chaser was going to be his former chaser at the rate this was going. The problem was that he had been the best of anyone who tried out, something that was not encouraging. Next year he was going to retry out the entire team, knowing that his staple players would make it anyways and hope that maybe a rising second year would be a hidden brilliant chaser or something. As it was his team was unstable with a rookie but improving keeper and a shaky at best third chaser. All of his formations were based on a three chaser team, which they were certainly not.

"Teddy, earth to Teddy." Tarryn said, shaking his shoulder slightly.

Teddy glanced over at his friend. "Sorry, what was that?"

"We told Rhy that we had detention and we are running late for our story. We have to go, now!" he said urgently.

Teddy nodded and noticed Ollie standing at the entrance to the empty locker room.

"I walked her to the dorm and doubled back, are you two ready?" he asked.

Teddy nodded and hastily threw his practice gear into the wash bin in the corner for the house elves and pulled a long sleeved Manchester United shirt over his head, tugging it into place over the waistband of his dark wash jeans. He looked out at the falling sun.

"We are going to have to hurry. I already got the house elves to bring some food here for us to take." He pulled four shrunk bags out of his locker and closed it. "We just need to get it to the house and figure out if there are blankets in the attic or cupboards or not. Sorry, I shouldn't have kept us so late, I wasn't thinking." He mumbled as he led them carefully across the grounds towards the wimping willow.

"Mate that tree is about to take your head off!" Tarryn hissed and ducked a branch as Teddy levitated a rock and flung it with all the accuracy of a talented chaser into the trunk of the tree.

"How the hell did you do that?" Ollie asked, awed as the tree froze and Teddy motioned them to run after him.

"Just run, quick, it isn't permanent."

Nearly as soon as they were underground they heard the motions of the tree pick back up. Ollie glanced back and watched as they blocked the light of the setting sun. "Seriously, how did you do that?"

"Dad told me how to freeze the tree and how to get here. But we don't have a lot of time now. I meant to let us out of practice early so we had plenty of time to get things set up."

"What do we do?" Tarryn asked, ducking his head as the path sloped upwards a bit.

"Well, first, when we get there don't touch any doors, they will lock down and alert my dad if you do. It has to be someone that lives in the house to be let in. Otherwise it alerts security." He stopped as the invisible barrier pushed them back. "Felix Fleicis." He said confidently, before stepping forward and continuing on.

After a few more minutes he was pushing open the door that lead from the cellar into the scullery. When they walked out into the main house the lights magically activated and Teddy heard the fireplace roar to life.

"I can't believe we are in the Hogsmede house. We had so much fun here." Ollie said, looking around fondly.

Teddy nodded in agreement and took the bags back, returning them to their normal size, the three boys put the food in the cabinets.

"Ted, I think the cooling charm has worn off on the refrigerator." Ollie said as he opened the door to the magically altered stainless steel appliance.

"Well that's not hard to fix." Teddy replied, waiving his wand over in as Ollie loaded the perishable food in.

"Hey, I thought you said that most of the house wasn't furnished?" Came Tarryn's voice from the sitting room.

"It isn't." Teddy replied, following Ollie into the rest of the house.

"I hate to break it to you, but this looks pretty furnished to me…Though it's obvious by the plastic that no one lives here." He said, turning in a circle and looking at the camel colored furniture set. There was even a flat panel telly hung on the wall above the fireplace with the film from the store still covering it.

"None of this was here last time." He glanced back at the kitchen through the archway, "The old glass top table is in there. Why do you think they would put new furniture in?"

"Maybe they are going to move back here to keep an eye on you." Ollie joked as he peeked into where he knew the office was. "This definitely isn't your dad's style of office though, maybe they are going to rent it out."

Teddy walked in and knew instantly that Ollie was right about this not being his father's type of office, the desk was streamlined, black and glass. The wooden shelves on the wall were now glass and had magically activated backlights. The once cherry wood paneled walls were now a bright vibrant blue.

"So this begs the question, are there beds upstairs?" Tarryn said evilly from the doorway.

"We might as well try them out if they are going to charge someone to use them Ted, I mean, at least we will know they are good quality right?"

Teddy shrugged non committedly and followed his two friends up the steps toward his old room. Ollie followed his memory, straight into what was Teddy's room. He smiled when he walked in, the paint was still the same. Though instead of the single sized child's bed there were two single beds, each against a wall of the room, a red comforter and set still wrapped in plastic sat at the foot of each of the unmade beds. There was a night table that sat under the window between the two beds. Teddy grinned up at the snitch as it zoomed across the wall before turning and poking his head into what was James' room.

The paint here had been drastically changed from the nursery theme it once had. The walls were now a light yellow, and a double bed sat in the central space of the room. Just like the other room a bedding set was still wrapped sitting on the bare mattress. This one appeared to be a bright yellow and silver combination. On the chest in the corner sat stacks of green towels and wash cloths, he glanced into the shared bathroom to see the minty green paint and accessories that weren't there before.

"Is it normal to rent a house with all of this in it already?" he asked as he made his way across the hall and pushed the door that was once his parents' open. If any room in the house was different this one was.

The entire room had been changed around and remodeled, the private bath even sat on the opposite side. The walls were a smoky gray and a large queen sized bed took up the main space. He ran his finger over the sleek black metal that made up the bed and furnishings. The curtains were already hanging on the windows in this room, they were a vibrant blue, similar to the color scheme of the office downstairs. He glanced at the bedding, seeing that it matched.

"I don't know, what if they are moving back here? I don't know that this is a good idea now." He said nervously.

"Teddy you prat, they aren't moving back here, there is no bedroom for you. Where are you going to stay? Hogwarts? They aren't leaving the manor and you know it. Harry loves living where his dad lived. You are being ridiculous." Ollie said firmly.

"None of this furniture is in their style anyways. Well the sitting room is, but who doesn't like brushed suede chairs and sofas? And anyone would want that muggle telly." Said Tarryn.

"If they are moving back, and we get caught." Teddy tried.

"That is precisely why you are using this room." Ollie said, guesturing to the master suite, "If they show up they are a lot less likely to kill the son that they love."

"Don't be so sure." Teddy grumbled, "Help me make up the beds if we are still doing this."

"Just to be clear, I am calling the yellow room." Ollie said with a smile.

"No way, how is that fair? I have been dating Lucy longer than you have been dating Rhyan." Tarryn said with a glare as he tucked the fitted sheet over the bottom corner of the mattress.

"It is fair for several reasons, the first being that I have way too many memories in Teddy's old room. And almost all of them include Victoire and Dom or Molly and Lucy and all of them include Ted. I don't want to be thinking about them while I am with Rhy. You were never in that room, no weird memories. Secondly, I am the only one that has gone all the way with their girlfriend so if anyone gets to sleep in the same bed it's me. Thirdly and finally, I think it would be awful to walk her upstairs and be able to say, oh by the way, we are going to be sleeping in your ex boyfriend's bedroom…"

Tarryn heaved a sight and Teddy chuckled. "Yeah, he wins, sorry mate."

Tarryn shrugged morosely as they headed across the hall.

0o0o0o0o

The cup winning team was screaming and chanting at center pitch. The cup hoisted high. Teddy had just slammed his fist into his locker, he was fairly certain that he may have broken his knuckle in doing so.

"Teddy, mate, calm down." Ollie tried, nervously putting his hands on his best friend's back.

"How did that even happen?!" he snapped, jerking away.

He turned to his team, all of whom were splattered in mud and sweat. Rhyan's face was clean only because of the tears that had washed the mud away. Tarryn's normally smooth hair was sticking up at odd angles and he looked as furious as Teddy. Adam was clutching his arm, Teddy had heard it snap, it was undoubtedly broken with the final bludger hit by the Ravenclaw team. They were obviously gunning for revenge after last year and after Teddy being instrumental their captain expelled. They had succeeded, no matter the trouble he had been having with his third chaser, he had not expected to lose the cup.

He looked around at the other six players. He could tell they were all dejected. He wanted to storm and rage at them, but what was he supposed to say? His keeper was a rookie and had played even though he had gotten a bloodied nose half way through. He let in no more goals than the Ravenclaw side had. His beaters had hit far more targets and had thrown their selves in the way of more hits than had hit the rest of the team. Rhyan had been on top of the snitch when the foot of the Ravenclaw seeker caught her in the ribs and sent her flying sideways. She was now standing in her tank top with it pulled up while Tarryn looked at it and Ollie flashed her concerned looks. Ollie had scored nearly as many goals as he himself had. Their weak link was Max, who had somehow managed to score a goal for Ravenclaw, Teddy was still fuming about. Because Logan hadn't been prepared to defend against his own chaser, when the quaffle sailed through the far right hoop he had just stared at it in confusion. He wasn't blind though their overconfidence had cost them as well. It was just as disabling as the lack of a proper third chaser. Ravenclaw was a very good team, they had been a good team for several years, they let their prior victories and the fact that Gavin was gone negatively affect them, it had cost them.

Still, even knowing all of this, he was having a hard time controlling his temper. When he felt Ollie's hand squeeze his shoulder and then pat him on his chest he breathed in deep. "Get your showers. And then go do whatever it is you are planning to do today instead of celebrate. Next semester, the whole team tries out, no freebies. You make the squad only if you are the best in the house, I don't care who you are or who beats you out. Make sure you all thank Adam for four years of his beating skills. He has been an amazing asset to the team and I got word from McGonagall after the match that Kenmare was here scouting and they would like a word with you in Professor Longbottom's office. Congratulations." That was all he said before placing his broom in the broom cage and heading for the door. "Wood, lock the cage, I'll meet you in an hour." He finished before disappearing, still covered in mud.

0o0o0o0o0o

Walking the tunnel with three dejected boys and one girl who had just not only lost a quidditch game, but the cup was solemn, more so because two of the three girls had no clue where they were going and were nervous as to what was going on. Not to mention that Rhyan wasn't exactly being talkative herself And Lucy was nervous to say anything at all seeing as she was a member of the house that had just beat them. She may love her house and housemates but this was her family, and friends and she didn't like seeing them upset.

While Victoire knew where they were headed, she had not been aware this was going to be happening. Ollie had shown up at her study table in the dorm thirty minutes ago, freshly showered with a red faced and teary eyed Rhyan and told them both to grab a bag and throw some overnight clothes and supplies and something to wear for the next day, and that they would be meeting Teddy and Tarryn as soon as they were finished. They had obliged without question, they hadn't even questioned when they arrived at the edge of the willow at the same time as Tarryn dragging a confused looking Lucy by the hand.

When they reached the barrier Teddy turned and looked at Rhyan and Lucy, seriousness evident on his face. "This, goes no where. I am pretty sure that they are getting ready to sell this or rent it out so this will likely be the only time we will do this. Sorry it wasn't under better circumstances, this was supposed to be a celebration of sorts. Unfortunately, it is not. Luce, if you breathe a word of this to a single member of our family I will hex you."

"And I would try and remember that he learned to duel from Harry Potter." Ollie muttered with a slight grin.

She smiled and shrugged. "I won't say anything, but you should remember that he taught me too." Her snarkiness made all of them, even Teddy laughed slightly. Their tensions all eased a bit as they began the rest of the walk into the house. Once they were all in the kitchen and Teddy closed the door firmly behind them he showed them through to the sitting area.

"This is…Isn't this?" Lucy mumbled.

"It's the Hogsmede house." Victoire confirmed her cousin's suspicions as Teddy kissed her quickly on temple.

"We brought food earlier, it is in the kitchen, I need a shower, the guys know where everyone is staying so just make yourself comfortable. Vic do you want me to take your stuff up?" he asked lifting her bag from where he had sat it on the floor with his own.

She nodded and wiped a smear of mud from his face. "I am going to grab something to eat and give you time to get cleaned up and I will come up. You'll be in your room?"

"No, the master room."

"You mum and dad's room?" she asked nervously.

He smiled in understanding. "I can assure you it looks nothing like it did then, or even the last time we were here, they furnished and remodeled a bit. I wouldn't have agreed to the arrangements otherwise."

She nodded and watched as he trudged upstairs, both bags thrown over his muddy back, his jersey still sticking to his skin with sweat.

"Is he alright?" Lucy asked.

Ollie shrugged. "He will be, he is disappointed, and pissed and he won't take it out on anyone so he putting it all on himself."

"You guys played a really good match." She said gently.

"We really didn't." Tarryn admitted. "Not like we should have. I let a bludger hit my keeper, my partner flew recklessly into one and probably broke his arm."

"Teddy and I both missed passes that we shouldn't have, we let Max's inability incapacitate our entire offensive side. Teddy and I are good enough and have played together for enough years that one incapable player shouldn't have made us lose like that. We let our heads and egos get in the way." Ollie added.

"And I missed at least three runs on the snitch that could have won us the game. I saw it and hesitated, Teddy saw at least two of them I know, I saw him watch it dart away on one. I wanted to give them time to get a good lead and I let us lose because I wanted to be cocky. That was my fault, and I never should have flown in like that on that final run, it was stupid and Davies got a strong kick in."

"Speaking of, are you alright?" Victoire asked her friend.

"I'll be fine, nothing is broken, just bruised and sore, and hungry. Where is this food he spoke of?" Ollie laughed and led the two girls back into the kitchen after some food.

0o0o0o

He heard the door to the bedroom give a soft thud and he poked his head around the frosted glass, expecting that if someone was going to interrupt him in the shower it would likely be one of the guys.

"What." He yelled as he watched the bathroom door creep open.

He knew that his mouth dropped when Victoire came through and walked towards him. The only truly visble part of him was his torso and head, everything else was distorted and hidden be the frosted barrier of the large stand-alone shower.

"Vic." He stammered.

She didn't say anything as she softly wiped the water off of his face and kissed him on the lips. He just stared at her while she pulled back and pulled her long sleeved fitted shirt over her head and threw it to the ground. He finally recovered as she was unhooking her bra and he reached out and grabbed the waist of her jeans, pulling her closer to the side of the tub, silently thanking Merlin that his muscles had been so sore he had taken a hot shower rather than the cold one he tended to take when he was angry. She grinned as he fumbled with the top button on her pants because he was so intent on watching her remove the last scraps of fabric covering her breasts, when her bra hit the floor he gave up and stepped completely out of the shower, quickly putting his hands under her backside and lifting her into his arms, she wrapped her still jean clad legs around his middle and kissed intensely as he carried her under the water.

She squeeled as she was still half dressed and he chuckled as he sat her down so she could get undressed the rest of the way. He was so amazed with her boldness that he just started at her in awe as she undid her button and slid the now soaking wet jeans off with a bit of a struggle and then poked her upperhalf out of the shower and threw them into the sink across the room. Before she could get the sliding glass closed she felt his fingers running down her side. She looked up at him and for the first time in the last several minutes allowed herself to blush over what she had just done.

"Are you wanting to leave those on for the shower?" he asked with a smirk, nodding at her lacy black boycut panties that were clinging to her hips.

"Probably not the most fashionable to wear them in the shower." She joked softly.

He smiled and bent to kiss her neck, watching the water drops drip down it was more than he could resist.

"I disagree. I think they look amazing no matter where you are wearing them, though they are a bit counterproductive in here."

She sucked in a breath as he kissed his way down her side and to her stomach. She wrapped her hands in his hair as he kissed her hip bone and slid the drenched lace from her body, stood, and flung it over the top of the shower door. He let his fingers slip over the slick contours of her waist and breasts. This was the first time he had seen her completely nude and standing before him. The pink blush on her cheeks made him smile.

"You are incredibly beautiful, have I told you that?" he asked pushing his hand through his hair and causing water to spay backwards.

"Not today." She said, her voice shaking slightly, her nerves finally showing.

"Well, I should have." Pulling her against him into his embrace they stayed silent for a minute as the steaming water poured over his back and shoulders and down her front. He could feel it sliding between their stomachs. "I am sorry I was angry earlier."

She shook her head "I understand Teddy. I am sorry that you lost. I know you are disappointed, and that is beyond an understatement. Why don't you turn around and let me look at your back where that bludger hit you?"

He kissed her temple and shook his head. "It's fine. It wasn't that hard of a hit."

Sighing she stepped back and flipped her water darkened hair over her shoulder. "It's not fine, I know you and I saw when it knocked the wind out of you. You were having trouble breathing after that, you even had trouble shooting because of it, I saw your face."

His hands ran down her hips and he smiled slyly. "Not the topic of conversation I had in mind right now." He said, flicking his tongue across his lips, licking the water droplets off.

He stepped forward and backed her into the wall before kissing her softly. She mewed silkily against his lips as he allowed his hand to run down her stomach. He used the other to press her against the wall by her shoulder, holding her where he desperately wanted her. He didn't notice at first that her kisses had gotten less urgent and that her lips had stilled. It wasn't until she started shaking under his hands that he registered that something wasn't right. He pulled back and cocked his head at her, confused. She looked suddenly terrified. And the water on her face was actually tears. Out of no where her face registered a memory of her, topless and pushed against a bathroom wall and he understood instantly. He let go of her shoulder and stepped back, she was shaking so badly that her knees went weak, he caught her under the arm and pulled her back up and into his, he closed his eyes as she flinched at his touch.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking about that. Vic. Vic I need you to breathe honey." He said softly as he pushed her hair from her face and reached back with one hand to turn the water off.

He released her and gently helped her sit on the floor, where she pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in them. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel that he had found in the cabinet and secured it around his waist before picking up the soft worn cotton tshirt that he had brought in with him to put on. How could he have been so stupid to push her against the wall. He knew she still had nightmares about what could have happened if he hadn't shown up that night. It was something that seriously bothered her, and he hadn't even considered it when he held her against the sodding wall. He looked down at her shivering and crying in the shower and reached his hands towards her, she only pulled away slightly when he gripped her elbows and pulled her up into his arms and out of shower where he stood her on her feet and pulled his shirt over her dripping hair, she responded and put her arms through the holes. Grabbing his wand he cast a drying charm on her before pulling her back into a hug.

"Vic, I wasn't thinking. I am sorry. Please talk to me." He whispered into her ear.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

He kissed her head, burying his face in her soft hair. "I don't understand why you are apologizing to me, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I didn't, I mean I wanted, and I."

"Shhhh." He stopped her, understanding what she was trying to say. "Don't apologize for that. You, you are amazing. And standing in that shower with you was incredible. But you aren't going to apologize for something like this. It is fine." He pulled back so he could look into her ice blue eyes. "It is fine. And I am sorry for holding you against the wall, I should have thought of that. You don't apologize for anything, it is fine."

Her tears had subsided and her shaking was minimal, he let her go and ran his fingers through her slightly tangled hair while he looked her in the face.

"But we were so close. You don't want to, I mean did you not want to…" she trailed off, her eyes betraying both her fear and her insecurities.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I want to, I would be the biggest liar in the world if I told you I didn't. That's the only reason I pushed you against the wall, I lost control I wanted you so badly. Vic I would love nothing more than to take you to bed and do everything I have ever imagined in my head to you. But, we aren't going to do that when you are obviously upset. But you should know, if I ever see that son of a bitch again I might end up in Azkaban because I am likely to crucio him." He said as he lifted her back into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He ignored the searing pain in his back, which wasn't hard to do as he was also focusing on ignoring the fact that he was still only in a towel and she had nothing at all on under his shirt that was hanging loose around her legs that were again wrapped around his waist. He sat her on the bed and lowered himself slowly to kiss her. Before he pressed his lips to hers he spoke in a strangled voice. "You really are, incredibly sexy." He kissed her and slowly stood. "And now I am putting on pants before I can't stop myself."

He turned to walk away and heard her gasp. "Teddy your back!" she practically shouted.

He tried to quickly find another shirt to throw on but he had only brought the one, he slipped into the bathroom to pull on the clean boxers and track pants he had left in there. "It will be fine, it is just a bruise." He called through the door as pulled his boxers up, just in time as she pushed the door open and walked in.

"Turn around." She demanded, losing all of the previous shakiness in her voice.

He did as requested, gritting his teeth as she touched the worsening bruise, "This is awful, something could be broken."

"Nothing is broken, I would know if it was." He mumbled.

"Teddy…" she protested.

He turned to her and spun her around steering her back out of the bathroom before wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his cheek against her head. "I will be fine, I have had far worse injuries."

"Can we at least get Ollie or T to look at it?" she plead.

She felt him shake his head against hers. "That would mean you would have to put something else on, and I am perfectly happy with you in what you are wearing." He whispered into her ear, making her blush brilliantly.

"Your back."

"Is fine." He cut her off and kissed her cheek. He glanced outside at the falling rain as it had been all day. The dark clouds made it look even later than it was. He smiled at their wavey reflection in the watery glass. "I miss spending time with you. Did you know that I love you?" he asked her, watching her expression in the window.

She smiled and leaned her head back against his chest. "I love you too."


	28. Chapter 28: PS: I Love You

**_If I disappear you can blame a fellow reader for getting me hooked on Role playing lol._**

**_This chapter requires a key of sorts :)_**

_Victoire_

**Teddy**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

**P.S. I Love You**

Four weeks into summer holiday and you wouldn't know that Teddy was even out of school. He had gotten advance notice of his exam scores since they had been forwarded immediately to the department. Barely concealed shock did not describe his reaction to having received all O's for the term. He nearly fell off of his chair. He hadn't had much time to do anything other than work and sleep. Victoire had found out upon their return that her family would be spending the entire holiday in France with her mother's parents. He hadn't seen her since their third day home.

They had taken to writing letters back and forth every few days. It was a poor substitute, and often he was so tired after a day at the department that he didn't think he was even up to writing but he wrote anyways, it was the only way to talk to her. He flooed into the house that evening, his eyes heavy, today had been a trial day with the applying Aurors and the graduating team of Aurors. If he thought his uncle was going to go easy on him, he had been sadly mistaken. He was in pretty good shape, he ran everyday, he practiced quidditch four to five times a week, and he was beat. He had been doing physical challenges with the Aurors three times a week since his applications started and he was exhausted. He had to admit though, he could already see a difference in his build and in the definition of his muscles, something he was sure Victoire would appreciate when he saw her again.

"Teddy!" Lily's voice screeched.

He grunted as her little body slammed into him. "Hey Lilybean." He said before kissing the top of her head.

"We are all goin to dinner tonight! Mum said we were leavin after you got home and got ready." She jabbered.

"Lily, let your brother get a breath before you bowl him over, not everyone has been playing tea party all day." Ginnt chastised as she came into the room. He smiled at her as the sun caught the gold highlights in her fiery red hair. "How was your day sweety?" she asked him.

"Long, I think Uncle Ron was trying to kill me." He grumbled.

She chuckled and pointed to the stairs, we thought we would go out to dinner tonight. Your dad is still at work but is going to meet us there and I just got home since I am writing the quidditch finals. I was interviewing the finalists' coaching staffs today. You up to going out?"

He thought over his last four weeks and how little time he had yet to get to spend at home. "Of course I'll come." He said with a small smile. "I do have to get a shower though."

"You have a letter on your desk by the way." She called as he climbed the stairs to his room.

He sped up to have time to read it before they left.

_o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o_

_Teddy,_

_How was the department this week? I know you can't tell me much, I just want to know if you are enjoying it. I flooed on Saturday, I am sure Aunt Ginny told you, but you were outside with the boys and I told her not to bother you. I know you haven't seen them much at all during this break or the last. _

_Amazing job on your finals! I told you that you were going to get all O's. Merlin knows you studied hard enough for it. I think I saw you three times total in that last month. Speaking of not seeing you, I miss you. I miss your voice, and your hair. I can't believe we are going to be here until August 27th. I am hopeful that I can convince mum and dad to let me come home a week early to stay with grandmum and granddad. Since you will be done with the ministry after the 16th we would get to see each other. I also remain hopeful that this coming term will be less stressful than last, since I don't have OWLS this year. I know, I am grasping for straws._

_This week has been good so far. It has been exceptionally warm and I have spent most of the time at the beach with Dom and Louis and their friends from here. I went to the cinema last night with Jean-Luc, Benjamin and Adrienne. I haven't hung out with them in over a year, well since last summer. We had a lot of fun and they were going on about their exams that they sit this year. Apparently Beauxbattons does it a year later than we do. _

_I was surprised to hear that Ben and Adrienne are dating, they have been friends since before I can remember, I guess it is similar to us. Do you think people were surprised when we started dating?_

_Alright, well I made plans to go with the four of them out to a muggle beach party tonight, it should be fun. I miss you so much and can't wait to hear from you. _

_All my love,_

_Victoire._

_PS- How are all the littles doing?_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**Vic,**

**It was busy this week, and I am so tired. I am trying to figure out how to spend time there and at home but it is proving difficult. I get caught up in what we are working with and I lose track of time. I think I have only made it home on time three times all break. I really am sorry I can't tell you more about what I am doing. What I can tell you is that the things I have worked with, I love. And I can say that let's hope I get in after all of this because if I don't they will wipe my memory of it all and I am afraid I'll forget more than just the department. Do you think they can be selective enough to only delete certain memories? That is a bit scary don't you think?**

**I am still in disbelief that I got those marks on my finals. And I doubt this coming term will be any better, you may not have OWLS but I have NEWTS and you are still a prefect and I am still quidditch captain. **

**We went out to dinner the other night and James got asked out by a muggle in the restaurant. I can't believe how tall he is, he takes after Granddad that is for certain, he looks closer to fourteen than eleven. His face was hysterical, I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time. He was so embarrassed, you know he doesn't notice girls so he was more confused than anything. I have to give him credit though, for a little girl, she was cute. **

**The littles are all doing really well, they aren't so little anymore. Lily and Hugo are a force to be reckoned with and Albie and Rose are something else. All three boys are obsessed with anything that speaks quidditch, though James and Al are also mad about football. I don't think I have managed a single day without talking sports with one of them. Parker is doing well, he is getting anxious for his Hogwarts letter and I think he is nervous about leaving already. He is a good kid, he reads a lot. He and Rose get along great. He hangs out more with Al and Rose than he does Jamie and Freddie. Though I can't blame him, Jamie and Freddie make my head spin. **

**Next time you floo, I don't care what I am doing, if I am home, you have someone get me. **

**I miss you too. I can't believe it has been four and a half weeks since I saw you last. I don't think anyone was surprised when we started dating, I think they were more surprised that we didn't start dating sooner. I think they all saw it long before we did, or at least several months before we did. Maybe it came as a shock to you that your friends are dating because you don't see them together often anymore now that they are older. I am sure if you were with them daily you wouldn't have been as surprised.**

**Speaking of friends you don't see often. Who is this Jean-Luc? Going to the cinema with him and another couple seems a bit like a double date. Should I be worried here? No double dating unless I am on the date. How was the beach party? Did you have a good time?**

**I hope you are having fun, and I miss you more than you could know. **

**Love**

**Teddy**

**PS- Do you know if you are shopping for school when you get home or are you doing it there?**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_Teddy,_

_You know, if I didn't know better I would say you sounded jealous about Jean-Luc. Don't be silly, you have nothing to worry about, I have known him since I was little, it isn't like that at all. As if it could be with me being with you. It definitely wasn't a double date, though if it makes you feel better, the happy couple sat in the middle and I sat by Adrienne and Jean-Luc was on the other side by Ben. _

_The party was fun, there were fireworks and everything, I was surprised that muggle fireworks would be fun in comparison to Uncle George's. There was a lot of music and dancing and a firepit right in the sand. Which is a good thing since as hot as the days have been getting the night is still really cool by the water._

_So what did Jamie say to the girl when she asked him out? I can't wait to see him at Hogwarts, he is going to be so much fun to watch. I am kind of sad I am only there for two years with him and Freddie they are going to liven things up, do you think they will go Gryffindor? I think Parks is going to be Ravenclaw, I have my suspicions about Rose too. _

_Damn I forgot about NEWTS! We are never going to see each other, madam Pince is going to have a closer relationship with you than I will. DO you think she will ever retire?_

_I am glad you are enjoying the applications. I wouldn't want you to spend so much time there and hate it. And in answer to your question, yes, I think they probably can be that selective about what they obliviate. I know that the actual obliviatorrs are insanely specific at times. Dad says you wouldn't believe what they can do after that kind of training. And yes, that is pretty scary._

_I have to go, Grandmere' is wanting to go to her favorite restaurant tonight._

_All my love, _

_Victoire_

_PS- I think we are shopping here once we get our letter, which should be in a few days, which means my OWLS will be here soon!_

_o-o-o-o-o-o-oo_

**Vic,**

**Of course I am jealous, he is spending all summer watching my girlfriend prance around in a bikini on the beaches in France. That in itself is enough to be jealous of, set aside double dates and beach parties. And for the record, we have known each other forever too and two years ago I would have sworn that there was nothing at all that could have ever happened between us like it has. Give a guy a break here, I can't help it that I miss you and would rather you be with me than him.**

**James was just stunned. He kind of flapped his jaws at her. I was actually the one that answered for him, I took the paper with her phone number and told her thanks and put it in his hand. He didn't even speak.**

**I am glad you liked the fireworks, I like muggle fireworks, Uncle Dudley took us out for bonfire night a few years ago. **

**Lily wants me to tell you hello and that she misses you and your tea parties. I am glad you are having a good time. I have to get to work.**

**I can't wait to see you,**

**Teddy**

**PS- I have no doubt that Jamie and Freddie are both Gryffindors, if anyone is a Gryffindor it is those two. You really think Rosie will go Ravenclaw? Uncle Ron would faint.**

_o-o-o-o-o-o-o_

**Vic,**

**Alright, I got my letter a few days ago, I know that you got yours by now! What did you get on your OWLS! I was expecting to hear from you days ago.**

**What have you been up to that has kept you so busy?**

**Did you get any news on if you are coming home a week early or not?**

**Love you,**

**Teddy**

**PS- Apparently you don't have to be a prefect to get Headboy as my letter came with an extra badge.**

-o-o-o—o-o-o

_Teddy,_

_I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE HEADBOY! At least we will get to go to prefect meetings together! You can always schedule our rounds together too. Do you know who headgirl is? _

_I did get my OWLS I ended up with 5 O's and three E's Defense, arithmancy, and history, go figure. _

_I am sorry it took me while to write you back. We have been busy, mum and dad let me go to Paris with Adrienne and Ben. We had a really good time. I know I have been there before but still, Paris is always fun. _

_We also spent two days at the muggle theme park, Disneyland, which was fun and had plenty of things to do. Dom and Louis each had two of their local friends come and Adrienne and Ben came with me._

_We have done a lot of shopping in the last two weeks and have travelled quite a bit. _

_Stop being jealous, you have nothing to be jealous of. I promise. And I am NOT prancing around in a bikini!_

_I hope you are working a bit less and having fun. Tell Lily that I miss her too. She throws the best tea parties. _

_And no, no coming home early for me._

_Love you._

_Victoire_

_PS- You sounded really surprised yourself that we ended up together…._

_o-o-o-o-oo_

**Vic,**

**Don't pretend like you ever suspected that we would end up dating. You were surprised too, I am not surprised now, that's what matters. **

**I notice you are leaving Jean-Luc's name out of things is this because he isn't there or because you don't want me to be jealous of him. You might as well just tell me he is there, I am already jealous. He's with you, I'm not, enough said.**

**I was shocked when I got headboy. I had no idea I was even a candidate for it. Ollie says he is glad it isn't him that he didn't want to deal with the extra work, at which point I realized all the extra work that I was going to be doing. Headgirl is Kirstie Blakeney from Hufflepuff. I do not know her well at all, but she seems nice enough from the classes that I have had with her.**

**We have been to Disney, it was a lot of fun. Have you spent all of your Gringotts vault shopping? I know how good at it you are.**

**Love,**

**Teddy**

o-o-o-o-o

_Teddy,_

_(I am sighing here since you can't tell) Yes, Jean-Luc was with us too. I was trying to be respectful not evasive. And stop being jealous, you ridiculous boy._

_Victoire_

o-o-o-o-o-o-

**Vic,**

**That's all?**

**Teddy**

**PS- I love you.**


	29. Chapter 29: Parental Guidance

**_I am glad so many of you liked the last chapter._**

**_Their reunion was supposed to be next but this popped in my head._**

**_Hope you like it_**

Chapter Twenty-Nine

**Parental Guidance**

After sending his four line letter, if you could call it that, he headed to the office where he knew his dad was. It was late but he knew something had been going on in the Auror offices which meant that Harry would still be awake. He knocked lightly on the door so as not to wake the kids.

"It's open." Harry called through the door.

Teddy pushed the heavy door open and walked in, he leaned against the edge of the solid wood desk.

"What are you still doing up son?" he asked, looking up into the tired face of his eldest. Today had been his last day of the summer for the applications and he had assumed that the boy had gone to sleep hours ago.

Teddy shrugged, "I couldn't sleep. What are you doing up?"

"Work." Harry grunted. "Don't worry, your mum will drag me out soon enough, she doesn't like to sleep in our room alone.

The words our room reminded Teddy of a question he had forgotten to ask. "Are you renting out or selling the Hogsmede house?"

Harry looked confused at the question. "No, why would you think that?"

Teddy shrugged as he fiddled with a glass paperweight. "There was furniture in there that wasn't there before, I just wondered why you put it in there."

He glanced up as his dad leant back in his leather chair and flattened his hair, he licked his lips nervously. "You were in the Hogsmede house?"

Suddenly Teddy realized what he had just revealed, he felt his face heat up. "Vic and I stopped in to look around a few months ago, and when we lost the cup I needed to escape the castle." He said, semi truthfully.

He tried to avoid the raised eyebrows of his father, by looking at his fingers. "You just stopped in?"

"You said I could." He justified.

"I did." Harry nodded.

"So, are you renting it out or selling it?" he asked again.

"What is it with our children and ruining their surprises?" came Ginny's voice from the doorway.

Both Harry and Teddy looked up in surprise, Teddy's blush returned and Harry sighed, not exactly sure what was coming. Ginny surprised him as always though when she walked over and kissed Teddy's cheek.

"You might as well go ahead and tell him." She said to Harry, before sitting on the arm of his chair.

"We were going to give you the house for a Birthday present.

Teddy stared at him in surprise. "You got me a house for my birthday?"

"In all fairness, we already owned the house, we are just giving it to you since we don't live there anymore." Ginny said with a grin.

"Why?" he asked dumbfounded.

Harry laughed, "When you graduate you are going to be working a real job, with crazy hours and a lot of demands. You are already of age and soon enough you aren't going to want to be drug into games and things with your siblings. You are going to be tired, and overworked and sometimes I am certain you will just want time to yourself. Not to mention the house is in Hogsmede which means if you are off work on specific weekends you can see Vic. And I always intended for you to have it, the building that was originally there was built specifically for your father. The house that stands in its place is pretty much your birthright. It wouldn't be right for anyone else to have it."

"Didn't you notice that everything in there is in the style of something you would like? I decorated it specifically with you in mind." Ginny said with a smile.

"I knew it wasn't in your taste, and I knew that I liked everything in there but it never occurred to me that it was stuff that I would have picked for my own room." He admitted. "Why the three extra beds?"

"Well, we figured that at some point or another you wouldn't be able to escape the kids and that if you had them all three they should each have a bed. And if Ollie and Tarryn come stay for I don't know a Friday before a Hogsmede Saturday they should each have somewhere to stay." Harry answered.

"So how did you even see the changes?" Ginny astutely asked.

"We were in town for a Saturday and I wanted to change the carving of mine and Vic's name in the tree." He said, remembering the time before last when he had added a set of initials with a heart around it. "I tried the knob and it opened." In all truthfulness, that had happened, however, that particular time had been before the addition of the new furniture.

She nodded and smiled. "It is getting late, are you two planning on going to bed tonight?"

"Yeah, but I have a question first." He said.

"Shoot." His father replied.

"I want to go to France for the two days before we leave for the trip. I want to see Vic. I can leave and get there around three and then come home by five the next night."

Ginny nodded, "I can call Bill and let him know. I am sure they would be fine with you staying there."

He ruffled his hair, it was slowly streaking with red the longer they talked.

"Do you remember when we stayed over there when you and Vic were little?" Harry asked.

Teddy nodded.

"Those cabins were cool that we stayed in. I am pretty sure that I could floo him tomorrow and get you one of them for two days. That way you wouldn't have to worry about inconveniencing Fleur's mum."

"I liked those cabins." Ginny said wistfully.

"I think it would be easier for you to stay there and then just go over to Vic's family's from there."

"You think Uncle Bill would let me take her on a date?" he asked suddenly.

Both Ginny and Harry's eyes snapped on to him. He had dated a couple of girls, he had gone to Hogsmede with several that either of them knew of, but he had never taken one on a date outside of Hogwarts, it wasn't something Teddy had ever shown a real desire to do, he had never been serious enough with a girl to want to do that.

"We have been dating for months and I have yet to take her on a real date. And seeing as apparently Jean-Luc (he narrowed his eyes in distaste) has been gallivanting all over Paris and going to beach parties with her, I would really like to do that."

"Jean-Luc?" Harry asked.

"Is he that one little boy that was always so adorable when we visited with Bill while they were there?" Ginny asked.

"Mum, classifying the boy that is trying to steal my girlfriend away as adorable is not helping." He grumbled.

"I hardly doubt he is trying to steal your girlfriend, and I know that you have nothing to worry about." His dad said with a smile.

Ginny stood and pulled her son into a hug, running her fingers through his pale silvery blue, pink streaked hair. "While I know you don't have to worry about, your father can't say anything. Ask him about Dean one day and see what he tells you." She said with a smirk.

"That is hardly the same." Harry protested. "You dated the guy for nearly a year, I SAW you snog him, and you were hanging out nonstop."

"Yes, to try out for your quidditch team if I remember correctly. And the previous time we hadn't been hanging out, we had been in hiding together while you were off gallivanting across the known world."

Harry snorted in response "Glad to know that seventeen years later the journey that resulted in defeating Riddle has been termed "Gallivanting" because it was so much fun. And in my defense, I was a prat back then, I was only seventeen."

"Soooo my age then?" Teddy said with a frown.

"Precisely, so don't act a prat and make your girlfriend mad." Ginny said with a grin.

"Or just keep your trap shut and don't tell her you are jealous." Harry's statement was met with a playful punch in the arm from his wife.

"Too late for that." Teddy grumbled.

"You told her?" Harry groaned, Ginny frowned slightly.

"I don't see how she expects me not to be, she is hundreds of miles away, I haven't seen her in nearly six weeks, she is going to all these places with him, with another couple, and she is prancing around in a bikini on a beach. How can I not be jealous of that?"

"Please, Merlin tell me you did not accuse her of prancing in a bikini." Ginny muttered, shaking her head, Harry laughed heartily.

Teddy held his hands up "What? She does, you have seen her in swimwear. She does prance, and I love that about her, but not when I am not with her and another bloke is. She does prance."

"Oh sodding hell." Ginny kissed Harry and then kissed Teddy on the cheek. "You won't be in bed for a while, deal with your thickheaded son." She said before pulling the door softly closed.

"Oh son." Harry muttered before pointing to a chair. "Sit." Teddy obliged, solemn faced. "I would recommend in the future, never telling your girlfriend that she is prancing in anything, especially in front of other guys. And despite what your mother says, don't tell her you are jealous. Don't even elude to it, they get all up in arms about you don't trust them and it will always turn into an argument. Just pretend that you aren't jealous, trust me. There have been far more times than with Dean, I just learned from that one time to keep my mouth shut."

"What do I do?" he asked miserably. "She can't be mad, I mean I was only being honest."

"I think your situation is going to save you here. When she sees you I think she will be so excited that she will forget about being angry, just make sure that while you are on your date to apologize for being jealous and tell her that you trust her, you just missed being with her."

"I need a really good date." He mumbled.

"That son, you do." Harry agreed


	30. Chapter 30: Reunited

**_Eeeep sorry that this took so long_**

**_The baby is now one and a half and he is a handful_**

**_Annndd I may be rather addicted to a RolePlay forum…_**

**_I am sorry, I will do better._**

**_I am not JKR_**

**_Thank you for all of the reviews and for reading_**

Chapter Thirty

**Reunited**

The sun was just falling from the center of the sky, still giving off an incredible amount of heat as he walked up to the regal Chateau owned by Victoire's grandparents. The waves crashed from several feet behind the house, he could see the sandy beach and frothy water just over the low fence line. He was nervous. Bill and Fleur knew he was coming, Victoire did not. It was going to be a surprise of sorts. He knocked on the glass door hesitantly, it took no time for it to be opened and he was pulled into a soft embrace.

"Look at you, I swear you have grown at least 4 inches, how do you keep getting taller? What did they do to you at that ministry? You look like you have been working out all summer." Fleur said, holding him at arms length to get a better view of him, "you hardly look like ze same leettle boy anymore."

"That's because he isn't a little boy anymore." Bill's low voice said from farther inside the house.

Fleur ushered him inside and he saw his uncle sitting in a wingbacked chair fiddling with a box of some sort.

"Don't be silly, of course he ezzz still a leetle boy. He will always be a leeetle boy in my eyes." She said kissing in cheek.

"Thanks Aunt Fleur" he mumbled, blushing. "Hi Uncle Bill." He felt his face heat up slightly as he looked anywhere but at his uncle's knowing eyes…

"She is out back on the beach with the other kids, she is going to be excited to see you." He assured.

Teddy frowned. "Probably less so than you think…" Teddy muttered half under his breath.

"Probably more than you think actually." Bill chuckled. "Do you know where you are going?"

Teddy nodded, "Today I was going to take her to the Aquarium Musée and then somehow dad managed to get reservations for me at Magique Del Sol restaurant, so I guess I need to bring her back to change into dress robes before that, and then tomorrow morning I was going to pick her up early and take her to the Safari de Peaugres. I know she never mentioned any of them, so I am hoping she hasn't been this holiday." He replied.

"You are going to have a time getting through the aquarium and back here for her to change and zen to ze cabin for you to change and zen to dinner on time. Why don't you just spend ze day on ze beach wiz her and zen go to dinner? You could meet her friends." Fleur suggested slyly, he noticed that her accent had gotten stronger since spending the summer here where she grew up.

"I will do whatever she wants to do." He admitted, making Fleur smile brilliantly.

"Come on, I'll show you out to the back, brace yourself though, you are liable to get plowed over." Bill said with the barest hint of a grin. "Might as well leave your trainers on the terrace, else you'll have sand in them." He suggested before Teddy stepped off of the cobblestone and towards the group of teens that was out on the beach and in the water.

After pulling off his shoes and socks he headed towards the water's edge. He saw Dom standing next to a sand dune, watching two boys climb it, the sun shimmering off of the strawberry color in her hair. Even from this distance he could see the tanned color on her shoulders and could tell she was laughing. On a large, brightly colored beach blanket several yards away was a boy with caramel colored hair that he did not know. Sitting with her shoulder leant against him had to be Victoire, he would know the color of her hair and shape of her shoulders and waist anywhere. But something was different about her, it wasn't until he got closer and heard her laugh and flip her head that he realized, she had cut her hair, it was poker straight and seemed to be chin length, it showed off the curves of her back and neck well. He felt his heart sink for two reasons. One, she had cut her hair, he loved her hair, he had always loved her hair, he couldn't believe she cut it. Two, she was leaning against that boy.

Don't be jealous, don't be jealous. He chanted in his head. When he saw her turn her face to the unknown boy and smile he changed his mantra, don't show that you are jealous, don't show that you are jealous. As he slowed his walk out of nerves, he didn't notice the blonde cannonball that was shooting towards him from the right, it wasn't until he felt the sand hit his shins from the running feet, and then it was too late. Louis slammed into him knocking him sideways. He knew that he owed the fact that he stayed on his feet to the extensive training with the Auror recruits.

"Hey Ravenclaw, you about knocked me off my feet. No joining your house team, that's all I would need." He said as he wrapped his arm around his little cousin. "Happy late birthday. What did you-"

His sentence was cut off with a shriek, his head darted towards the sound of Dom's voice. "TEDDY!" she squealed as she barreled into him, knocking him off balance again.

"Hey midget." He managed before a full out scream rent the air, he looked up from Dom towards Victoire who had turned at her sister's yell and finally saw him standing on the beach with her siblings. He smiled as she broke into a run, her newly cut hair flying into her face.

"Gimme a second to say hi to my girlfriend yeah?" he said, pulling his arms from Dom and Louis. They nodded and stepped hastily away as Victoire jumped into his arms and he caught her midair, her legs wrapped around his waist and he held her up, his arms wrapped under her backside as she kissed him full on the lips. He didn't even stop to think about anyone that might be watching.

"You're here, what are you doing here? Oh my goodness you are here!" she cried into his neck as she buried her face.

He laughed into her hair, "I'm here. I missed you, and you weren't coming home, so I came to you."

She looked up into his face, her smile bedazzled him for a moment. "For the rest of the summer?" she asked.

He frowned, "No, unfortunately I only have until 8 tomorrow night. We are leaving on Friday for the islands. We have to leave pretty early due to the time change and mum said I needed to be home early enough to sleep so I don't get splinched getting there."

He sat her on her feet in front of him and smiled down at her. She was wearing white cottony shorts and a light blue sparkly bikini top. As much as he loved her long hair, he had to admit, she looked amazing with it short.

"You are gorgeous." He said softly before brushing his fingers against the edge of her hair, right at her jawline. "You cut your hair."

She nodded and only faltered slightly before answering. "Yeah, it was awful in the salt water and I couldn't take it any more. Do you think it looks alright?" he heard the nervous shake in her voice.

He kissed her again, softly this time and fingered the hair at the nape of her neck. "I think it looks incredible."

"Tori are you planning on eentroducing us to your friend here? Eeet isn't everyday zat you trample a boy and keess zem like zat." A soft feminine voice said.

Teddy grinned and pulled Victoire against him, wrapping his arms around her waist once she turned towards her friends. The girl was tall, well taller than Vic with dark brown hair and eyes, she was holding the hand of a boy close to Teddy's height with hair just as dark but blue eyes. Standing beside them was the boy that Victoire had previously been leaning against, they were all smiling happily, the last, maybe not as happily as the rest. Before Teddy could lift his hand to shake theirs Louis popped in and answered the question.

"This is Teddy. He is the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, and the new headboy, and the coolest older cousin ever and he is a metamorphagus which means he can change his hair and stuff whenever he wants, he just seems to be attached to the blue spikes."

Teddy smiled and ruffled the younger boy's shaggy blonde locks.

"He is also the reason that Vic doesn't often trample and kiss other boys. He's her boyfriend." Dom said in a highpitched sing songy voice.

Teddy laughed at her teasing.

"Guys this is Teddy, as Dominique so eloquently said, this is my boyfriend. Teddy, these are my friends that I told you about, Adrienne, Benjamin and Jean-Luc."

He held his hand out to each in turn and shook it with a smile. He pretended not to notice her stutter over the last name.

"It is nice to meet you all. She has told me a lot about you."

"I am sure eet is not more zan we have heard about you." Benjamin said with a grin at Victoire.

"Let's hope they were the good things." Teddy mumbled as everyone laughed.

"Well according to Louis there are no bad things to tell." Victoire said, rolling her eyes as they started to walk towards the blanket. "You aren't exactly dressed for the beach. Khaki shorts and a black Tshirt don't scream beach bum you know?" He smiled as she looked closer at his appearance.

"I hadn't intended to spend the day out here until your mum said we didn't have time for all my plans. As it is, we are out here until fiveish, we have to be somewhere at six."

He sat down on the blanket that she had vacated when she realized he was here, rather than sitting beside him, she sat in his lap facing him. Her friends followed their lead and took seats around them, Adrienne with her back against Ben's chest.

"Where are we going?" she asked, not paying attention to anyone around her as she looked into his silver gray eyes.

"Ahh, that love, is a surprise. Let's just say we are going on a date and leave it at that. And that you need time to dress up for it."

"Aren't you going to ask me out on a date first?" she teased.

He shook his head and kissed her lightly before pulling his fitted shirt off over his head and tossing it onto the nearby pile of towels.

"Nope, I'm not. I don't think I should be required to ask my own girlfriend out on a date. I am calling boyfriend status and just taking you." He said with a smirk as she stared at his chest, he may not have noticed the drastic changes that were taking place with his body but after not seeing him for nearly seven weeks, she had.

"Sounds good to me." Adrienne said with a huge smile.

"So head boy huh? You must be very astute to get awarded zat." Jean-Luc observed.

Teddy shrugged, "You would think so. But I am pretty certain that I got more detentions last year than most of my year mates did. I don't know what they were thinking." He chuckled, as he twirled a piece of Victoire's hair around his finger, its new length was quite the novelty for him.

"I am sure they were thinking that you have the highest grades in probably a decade and that you are an awesome quidditch captain which makes you a good leader." Dom said as she threw herself into a place between Teddy and Jean-Luc

"You know, your brothers and sisters seem to know more of your boyfriend zan you do." Jean-Luc said in a joking manner.

"No, they just talk faster than I do." She replied, poking her tongue out playfully.

_She's in my lap, I'm not jealous, I am not jealous, she is in my lap, not his, she's my girlfriend. _He thought over and over again.

"Besides, I am still in a bit of shock that he is here, I wasn't expecting to see him until our end of summer dinner at Grandmum's."

"So you have told us, half in tears, hundreds of times."

"Thank you for that Ben." She scathed.

"They make it sound like you missed me or something." He said as he pulled her to his lips.

"I refuse to admit to such things." She said with a smile.

"We'll see about that." He stood up with her still in his lap, forcing her to wrap her legs around him and cling to his bare shoulders. Shoulders that were much more defined than they had been at the end of term, he held her easily as if she weighed nothing at all. Before running towards the water at full speed with her giggling the entire way.

0o0o0o0o

The sun was sinking lower as it was nearing 4:30 and Teddy was sitting in the sand with Victoire at his side, they were talking quietly together and drawing shapes in the sand when Louis walked up, smiling.

"Teddy, come play football with me and my mates, this is Micah and Jax!" Louis said excitedly, tapping Teddy on the shoulder.

Teddy looked at Victoire and smiled slightly.

giggled

"We will be leaving soon, do you care if I go play with them?" he asked, not wanting her to feel like he was abandoning her.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, not at all, go on and have fun." She said, kissing him softly and watching him run off with her baby brother and to the edge of the shoreline, the game was much more entertaining when you had to worry about the ocean stealing your ball with a wave.

She looked up at Jean-Luc sat down where Teddy had been previously.

"He seems….nice." he said simply.

She nodded her head as she watche Louis, Michah and Jax tacle Teddy into the water, he was fighting back and pulled Louis with him. She loved that he would play with the kids like that.

"he is, he is one of the nicest guys I know." She said with a smile.

Teddy looked up as he stood out of the water, and saw her talking to Jean-Luc and stopped laughing abruptly. Suddenly, he felt small hands shove him over and he was back on his bum in the shallows and a laughing, yellow bikini clad Dominique was standing over him with a guilty smile.

"What was that for!" he spluttered as he attempted to stand again.

"She is fine. You don't need to worry about him you know. It is only irritating her." She said, not looking towards Victoire but he knew perfectly well what she was talking about,

"How would little miss Dom know what I am thinking?" he teased kicking water at her.

"Let's just say that if she is willing to talk to me, her annoying baby sister, about it, well, she is pretty annoyed." She said with a grin. "Just, let off it a bit. She isn't doing anything wrong with him."

Teddy stared at the young witch for several minutes before speaking, letting the waves crash against his legs. "I don't think that she is. I never did think that. I just hate sharing her time when I already get so little of it. I don't like it when someone gets more time with her than me. And he has gotten a lot of her time this summer." He said with a sigh.

Dom nodded and followed him as he walked down the beach away from Victoire and her friend. "I understand that, but if you two keep it up, you are going to end up in a fight, and we all know that your fights are not little." She said with a rueful grin thinking about their huge fight in front of the family.

"You make excellent points for someone so small." He joked, poking her in the side. She had a similar build to Victoire though, being a few years younger, she was a bit shorter.

She laughed and shook her head. "Teddy, I am hardly as small as I used to be."

"That's true, I remember when you were really small and Vic and I used my dad's wand to turn your skin different colors. I remember that spanking." He said, laughing to himself.

Dominique shook her head and laughed. They both turned when they heard her mother calling, bewildered.

"Eeet is a quarter past five. You need to get ready!" she shouted from the shore towards Teddy. He noticed that Victoire was already gone. He wondered when she ha d went inside without him. He had been so absorbed with talking to Dom he had forgotten to keep his eye on her and Jean-Luc. He turned and smiled at Dom before pulling her towards the sand with him.

"Come on Dom. I have a date to go on." He said happily.

o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-oo-

It hadn't taken him too long to get himself sorted out and ready to leave. He was slightly nervous, this was their first date and this restaurant was popular, and hard to get into. This restaurant was a magicly run establishment and required fancy dress, though not dress robes, thankfully. He looked down at himself, as dressed up as he was, you would have thought he'd be more uncomfortable, surprisingly he wasn't. He was wearing black tuxedo pants and a black button down with a white tuxedo jacket. Since the restaurant was owned and ran by wizards and required a reservation, which meant apparating directly into the apparition area, Teddy didn't need to mask his hair color. His electric blue hair stood out with his white and black tux and the hair brought the attention to his cerulean blue tie that he wore. Deciding that he was as ready as he would ever be he walked about a quarter of a mile to the apparition point outside of the cabin he had rented and apparated to the chateau.

Standing at the door he felt his stomach clench, his nerves set in more, this was a date, a real date, a big date. A real date with Victoire. He tentatively knocked at the door for the second time that day.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Victoire stood in her room at the chateau with her mother and sister.

"Are you sure that this is alright to wear, Maman?" she asked for the twelfth time as she looked into the full body mirror.

"Yes, I am certain that eet is. I have been there on multeeple occasions. Eet is perfect, you look enchante."

Victoire stared at her reflection, having a hard time believing that she was looking at herself, she looked more grown up than she remembered. Her newly cut hair was styled perfectly straight and lay sleek and shiny around her face. She was wearing a bright pink formal summer dress. It came a few inches above her knees. The strapless dress was in a very flattering sweetheart cut, it hugged her body closely to her mid waist and then flared out slightly, laying in loose layers around her hips legs, making it swish flirtily while she moved.

She ran her fingers over the rhinestones that decorated the detailed top of the dress, they matched the stones on the silver strappy heels that she wore.

"Turn your head back here so I can do your eyes." Fleur demanded.

Victoire immediately obliged turning away from the mirror so her mother could finish doing her make up.

"Vic, Teddy is here." Her Grandmere's voice said through the closed door.

Victoire's eyes widened slightly.

"Hold still, he will still be zere in two minutes. I am almost done." Fleur said, lifting a hand and putting the finishing touches on her daughter's make up.


	31. Chapter 31: Written In The Stars

**The end of this is a very very strong M rating**

**Don't read it if you don't like it**

**_Hey All. This is a much anticipated chapter_**

**_I hope you like it._**

**_And I my updates will continue to be every two weeks or so_**

**_Because I do have little kids and school is out for summer_**

**_Sorry I hope you understand_**

**I am not JKR unfortunately Sorry.**

Chapter Thirty-One

**Written In The Stars**

Five minutes later Teddy was standing in the sitting room, bouncing nervously from foot to foot. He didn't think he had been this nervous before, ever. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder and he looked up at Bill with a half smile.

"You will be fine. Just remember to breathe so you don't pass out." He said with a grin. When Bill smiled you could see the handsome unscarred boy he once had been. Teddy took in a deep breath.

"Thanks Uncle Bill." He said in a shaky voice.

Bill smiled and nodded she needs to be home by midnight.

Teddy nodded. "Yes sir."

And then his mouth went completely dry because at that moment Victoire came down the stairs. As she walked towards him his heart began to beat faster, the blood in his veins pumped harder. He could hear his pulse in his ears he heard Bill's chuckle and though it sounded far away he heard him mutter to him.

"Breathe, son."

Teddy sucked in a searing breath. She was beautiful, her hair framed her face perfectly, he hadn't been sure he liked it before but she looked stunning. When she stopped in front of him he almost couldn't speak.

"You…" he shook his head. "Wow." Was all that came out.

Victoire giggled a melodious giggled and flipped her hair of her face. His stomach did a funny lurch and he felt happily nauseous. He cleared his throat.

"Really Vic, you are breathtaking." He said sincerely.

She blushed with the compliment.

"You look rather nice yourself there Mr. Potter Lupin." She said with a coy grin.

"Alright, zey are going to be late. Go on. You two half fun and be good." Fleur said, shooing them to the door.

"Midnight!" Bill called.

Fleur stopped and looked at him in disbelief.

"William, zey do not half to be home by midnight. You may stay out until three, no later. Teddy needs to be safely is his bed by Three thirty. Ignore Bill, he ess just being overprotective. Go half fun."

Victoire smiled and pulled Teddy from the house before her father could change the time on them. He held her hand as he walked her down the lane to where he could apparate. Once they reached the end of the cobbled walk he turned and smiled at her.

"You really do look beautiful. I have missed you so much." He said softly.

He placed his hand on her cheek and pushed her hair back from her face, he kissed her softly but felt the intensity build behind it, he hadn't kissed her in so long. They should have broken the kiss, they were going to be late. But they did not, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her hands rest on the back of his neck and idly playing with his collar. His lips moved against hers parting them as the kiss intensified, his head swam slightly before they both pulled away slightly gasping for breath. His silvery gray eyes met her oceanic blue and he grinned slyly.

"We should get to the restaurant."

Victoire nodded with a slight smile on her lips. "Yes, we probably should." She said, a hint of regret in her voice.

He noticed the tone but knew they needed to go to make their reservations, he held her close to him and side-longed her into the entrance of the popular wizarding restaurant.

They both looked around, a bit shell shocked at the posh appearance of the place when a tall man dressed in an all black tuxedo .

"Good evening, may I have the reservation name?" he said formally, not looking at Teddy or Victoire at all, simply looking down at stark white list written on expensive looking parchment. Teddy nodded.

"Er, yeah, Potter I think. Uhm, Teddy Potter…Maybe Theodore Potter-Lupin."

The man's head snapped up at the surname and his eyes roamed over Teddy's face and then he looked to Victoire. "Potter? Teddy Potter? A reservation for the prime table?"

Teddy looked at Victoire in confusion. "Maybe? Er… My father made the reservation, Harry Potter? It might be in his name." Teddy answered.

The man smiled kindly. "I have you right here, under your own name. Your father reserved the best table in the establishment for you. If you and your lovely lady would follow me."

Teddy and Victoire did as instructed. They took their seats and the man looked slightly put out when they both just happily sat down rather than waiting for Victoire's chair to be pulled out or anything. They both smiled thankfully up at him when he gave them menus that contained no prices.

"Thanks." Teddy said in a friendly manner.

Victoire giggled at how out of place it sounded. The man walked away leaving the two to review the menu. Teddy looked at all of the food choices and was slightly overwhelmed everything was four courses or more. He fidgeted in his seat and looked up at Victoire, who was looking at him, her face looked like she was torn between saying something and saying nothing.

"You alright?" he asked, worried that she wasn't having a good time.

"Teddy, why did you pick this place?" she asked.

He thought about it. "Er…Because I needed a good date, and this is the best wizarding restaurant there is?" he half said, half questioned.

She broke into giggles. "Is there anything on there you want to eat?"

Teddy smiled slightly and shook his head.

She grinned. "I thought not. Where are you staying? Since you aren't staying with me at the Chateau?"

"A cottage that we rented for vacation a year or so ago. Until tomorrow night." He replied.

"Good, let's go get pizza and drinks, and go there, I would much rather eat pizza with you on a couch than be surrounded by all these dressed up people."

Teddy smiled slightly. "But you are so dressed up and look amazing." He protested.

Victoire laughed and stood, she held out her hand as she put down the menu. "It will be a very fancy pizza party."

Teddy laughed and took her hand and together they walked out of the restaurant and after reminding Teddy to change his hair to a normal color, they apparated into a muggle town, and laughed at the stares they got as they waited in the pizza shop for their pizza dressed in such formal attire. They apparated into the relative safety of the cozy cabin. Teddy looked around and smiled. The cabin was surrounded by foliage and sat on a small expanse of private beach, it was completely secluded, the sun was lowering in the sky, shining a deep orange that signified the closeness of sunset. He looked over at Victoire and quickly kissed her cheek.

"How about, I summon a blanket and we have a fancy pizza party right here on the beach?"

"That would be amazing." She said with a grin.

He handed her the pizza and sat the bag with the bottles of drink on the sand before summoning a large plush comforter from the spare room in the house and laying it out smoothly on the sand. She sat the pizza on top of it and the drinks as he summoned candles and replicated them, leaving them in a pile to the side for when it got dark. He sat down beside her and pulled off his jacket, laying it to the side as she opened the pizza and pulled a slice out, she smiled appreciatively at it.

"Is this better?" he asked, taking a bite of his own, very hot piece. "Hah..haa..hot." he stammered

She giggled and nodded. "This is the perfect date Teddy. Nothing could be better than this." She took a much smaller bite than he had and shot him a teasing look. "Tell me about you summer."

Teddy laughed after swallowing. "Not much has happened that I didn't write you about. It has been insanely busy. I feel like I have barely slept at all. I am not looking forward to seventh year at all, after this. Quidditch, NEWTS, classes, Head duties and the application stuff on Hogsmeade weekends? I may never get a moment to breathe again." He sighed.

Victoire looked at him a bit sadly. "We won't see much of each other will we?" she asked.

Teddy grinned slightly. "Well, I will have my own dorm room and small common area, it will connect to the head's office since the other head is a Hufflepuff. Mum said that when Aunt Hermione was a head and her fellow head was a Ravenclaw that the rooms were set up joint but not as one common room. She said that there was a common office for meetings and what not and then a door to each common room, which both heads could enter at will and then their rooms were off of their own common room. So, if what she said stands true…You can always come visit me in my private quarters." He looked at her with a cocky smile as she laughed.

"I may just have to do that."

They sat in amicable silence or chit chat for a while, until the sun had fallen and the sky darkened. When it became too dark to see her face Teddy flicked his wand and the candles all hovered from a few feet above the sand around the blanket to several feet in the air above them, he used a flame freezing spell on them, causing them to stay lit for as long as they needed. Victoire smiled at the sight of the flames flickering off the water, she laid back once he vanished the pizza box. She looked up at the stars and sighed. This really was the perfect date.

Teddy lay down on his side facing her, he watched her and smiled, he loved just being with her, he reached over and stroked her hair and decided in that moment to blow off his parent's advice.

"Vic, I am so sorry." He said suddenly.

She turned her face to his and smiled slightly. "What are you apologizing for?"

He sighed and pushed his hand nervously through his teal hair, he leaned up on one elbow and she smiled softly, his tie had been loosened and his top three buttons were undone. His shirt had been untucked long ago. He looked at her with a sad face.

"I shouldn't have been jealous, I trust you. I do. Completely. You just, you have to understand. All I wanted all summer was to spend time with you and to see you. To hold you and listen to you laugh. And I didn't get to do any of those things with you. But he did. I wasn't jealous because I thought you were going to cheat on me or something, I was jealous because you weren't with me. I was jealous because he had the one thing in the world that I want more than anything else and I didn't, you." He said, looking into her eyes.

Victoire smiled a soft smile and she wiggled closer to him so their faces were only inches apart, she placed her hand on his chest, her eyes never leaving his. "Teddy, you are the only person in this world that has me. Whether I am with you or a thousand miles away. I am only yours, I will always be yours." She said softly.

No more words needed to be said, Teddy brought his lips to hers in a kiss that made the stars fade away, all he knew in that moment was her. She was the only thing that he saw or felt, the rest of the world faded into nothingness. Their lips moved together flawlessly, melting together in a kiss that would seal their lives together forever. They both felt the shift when the kiss intensified, when it took a more serious turn than it ever had before.

Teddy placed his hand on her waist and repositioned himself so he was hovering over her and she was on her back. His kisses travelled from her lips to her jaw, then down to her neck where he kissed and nibbled softly as he unzipped the zip on the side of her dress. She lifted herself slightly to help him pull the dress off of her, leaving her in a strapless corset style bra and lacy panties. He kissed along the top of the bra, leaving tingling kisses in his wake. She whimpered as his lips teased her relentlessly. He worked his way back to her lips as she pulled his tie loose and then unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it from his shoulders.

"I love you Vic." He murmured against her lips as he felt her hand slide down his chest to his stomach, finally settling on his pants where she unclasped his belt and unhooked them. She used her feet to push them the rest of the way off before taking her own lips from his and moving them teasingly across his collarbone her hand wandered down and his groan made her skin tingle.

"Oh Merlin, Vic." He moaned.

She bit and nipped at the taught skin on his shoulders and neck before looking up at him and kissing him softly. "Make me yours." She whispered.

He looked at her wide eyed. "You-You-you're sure?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "Here, under the stars, with you, is perfect. It was meant to be this way. I want nothing more than I want you. Make me yours Teddy."

He feverishly kissed her as he removed her panties and his boxers. He slid his way down her body peppering it with kisses and leaving marks where he was sure no one would see. He worked his way to her center leaving her trembling, whimpering and begging, her hands tangled in his hair.

"Now. Please Teddy, now." She cried out.

He obediently returned his lips to her neck and then her lips, positioning himself above her, he braced himself on one arm and placed his other hand on her cheek before kissing her deeply.

"I love you Victoire." He said into the kiss as he pushed into her.


	32. Author Note

_**Hey guys, **_

_**Sorry to get you excited for nothing,**_

_**But I have a problem.**_

_**All of my stories have somehow erased from my computer.**_

_**My wonderful Husband who is a computer repair operator is working on recovering them.**_

_**Until they are back...I will have no updates. I am so sorry.**_

_**Hopefully it will be soon. **_

_**I have not forgotten, you so hold on tight.**_

_**When I can, you will get several updates back to back**_

_**I promise.**_


	33. Chapter 32: End of Summer Fun

**_Pokes head in._**

**_Hey…Is anyone still around waiting for an update?_**

**_Well….Since you have been oh so patient,_**

**_I thought I would pick up, right where I left off so _**

**_Rated M, Don't read it if you don't like it_**

**_I am so not JKR she makes us wait YEARS for updates!_**

**_Granted…she gives us whole books at a time but still…_**

**_I'm rambling, let me start this._**

**_Thank you for PM's and Reviews and for waiting_**

Chapter Thirty-Two

**End of Summer Fun**

When their bodies connected it was like nothing else had ever existed before, and never would again. Teddy looked down at her as he entered her, at the same time he reveled in the most intense pleasure he had ever felt. He watched her face carefully for signs of pain and for her to ask him to stop. She let out a sharp intake of breath and her eyes widened. Teddy stilled his movements, resisting the insatiable urge to push harder and faster.

"Vic." He said a bit hoarsely.

Victoire shook her head. "Please don't stop." She barely breathed.

Teddy moved his hips against hers again, thrusting gently, farther into her, he groaned and she whimpered slightly, he froze again, pushed nearly completely into her.

"I'll stop." He managed to say.

She continued to shake her head, she wrapped her arms up around his neck. "No, please. I want this, please, don't stop. Stop stopping."

Teddy nodded once and lowered himself so he was resting on his elbows, his arms under her shoulders, holding them from the back, his face just inches from hers, his body touched hers from navel to knees, he pushed the rest of the way into her and pulled back slowly, instantly repeating the glorious movement. He rubbed her cheek softly with his index finger.

"Vic, I love you so much. So...so much." He half whispered, half groaned as he increased the rhythm.

She bit her lip to keep from crying out, though after several minutes the stinging pain subsided and new more pleasurable feelings made themselves known. She moaned quietly as he pushed himself deep within her. His eyes opened in surprise at the new sound she had made, it was obviously not one of discomfort or pain. He pulled back and repeated the movement watching her face in amazement at the look of desire on her face. He continued the motion that she seemed to like, dropping his face to hers, kissing along her jaw line up to her ear.

"You like that?" he whispered, wanting to make sure he was deciphering her body language correctly.

She arched her back and matched his movements and he felt his head spin.

"Yes…yes…don't stop." She panted, looking at him, her piercing blue eyes meeting his hungry silver gray.

He didn't. He kept the motion and though with every thrust it became more frenzied more intense, deeper and faster, bringing them both to and edge, just as she gripped her nails into his back and cried out in both pleasure and a hint of pain as he lost control and threw himself into her, he let go, of everything. He let go of fears, and nerves, control of the situation, he let go of everything he had been holding back, even himself. All of it in that moment became part of her, part of them. As he fell off the edge he had been desperately clinging to.

0o0o

Several hours had passed, and Teddy lay with his head resting on Victoire's stomach, listening to her heart, his fingers trailed patterns up and down her side, to her hip and upper thigh.

"Teddy." She said softly.

"Hmmm?" he mumbled, close to sleep.

"Teddy it's five minutes to my curfew." She said remorsefully.

He lifted his head and looked at her. "What?" he yelped, a hint of panic in his voice.

She nodded sadly. "Vic we'll never get you back in time." He said, eyes wide, as he sat up and scrambled to gather his clothes.

"I'm sorry. I just…I didn't want to leave you." Her voice was quiet and trembling slightly.

At the sound of her tone Teddy stopped dressing and turned to her, only wearing his pale blue boxers and white undershirt. He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his.

"Shhh…it's fine Vic. It will be fine, I didn't want to leave you either. I will explain to your father, it will be fine. I promise you, it will be fine." He kissed her lips softly, lovingly before standing back up.

"Let's get you home." He aid said softly, pulling his trousers on and grabbing his shirt.

0o0o0o0o

Teddy walked up the front walk holding Victoire's hand, she looked slightly rumpled but still perfect in her dress, though her hair was now tied back in a simple ponytail and her makeup was all but completely gone. Teddy's shirt was untucked and the top few buttons undone, showing his undershirt. His shocking blue hair was tostled on his head as they walked up to the door, which opened as soon as they reached it.

Bill stood there with his arms crossed over his chest his face pulled into a mask of irritation and anger.

"You are a half hour late." He said in a flat voice.

Teddy looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry uncle Bill…It's my fault…I just…we were sitting outside and lost track of time. I am so sorry." He said repentantly.

"Eeetz okay Teddy…Bill eez just being oveeer protective. You are fine, go back to your cabin and we will see you tomorrow." Fleur said, coming up behind Bill.

Teddy nodded and looked at Victoire. He kissed her cheek. "I love you." He whispered into her ear. "Goodnight Uncle Bill, Aunt Fleur." He said, turning and walking away from the door and down the walk, walking away from her that night was the hardest thing he had ever done, he wanted nothing more than to keep her in his arms, to keep her secure and safe in his arms. Instead he was leaving her here only to return to her in the morning.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Unfortunately Teddy did not get to return to Victoire the next morning as planned. Right as the dawn broke and Teddy was still completely sound asleep, Harry apparated into the sitting room of the cabin. He walked into the room that he knew his son would use and gently shook him awake.

"Ted…Teddy, son, come on, wake up." He said gently.

Teddy opened his eyes blearily and looked up at his father.

"Wussamater." He stammered out, groggily.

Harry smiled and ruffled Teddy's hair. "Nothing is the matter. We have inherited a few extras on our trip so we need to leave early to arrange rooms."

Teddy looked confused, their end of summer trip to the Bahamas was always just his mother father and the kids, though once or twice Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had come with Rose and Hugo as well.

"Who's commin?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he sat up.

"Oliver has been chosen as coach for England's national team this year, and he and Alicia have to travel because of it. She is writing the articles for the match for the next year. Because of that, Ollie, Maddie, Zoe and Ever are coming with us on vacation and we will be putting them off to Hogwarts, well all but Ever who will be staying home with Albus for few weeks." Harry explained.

"I bet Albie is excited about that." Teddy said with a grin, knowing that Al and Ollie's youngest sister were great friends. Unlike James and Maddie who argued all the time.

Harry laughed. "He is, James…not so much, but, he'll live. So come on, your best mate is waiting at the house for you."

Teddy's eyes widened as he understood. "But…But…no, I am supposed to be with Vic until this evening." Teddy protested.

Harry shook his head. "I already talked to Bill. They will let her know that I forced you to leave early. Sorry son, but there really is no other option."

0o0o0o0o

Ten days later found Teddy and Ollie walking down the middle of Diagon Alley with 9 year old Lily on Teddy's back and Oliver holding Everleigh's hand tightly as both little girls prattled on about everything from princess dresses and glitter to quidditch and dolls. He had been put in charge of the little kids today and he was watching as Albus ran ahead jabbering about broomsticks and league championship quidditch. They had handed over their book and supply lists to his parents and would meet them for lunch when they would be able to trade off the kids and Ollie and Teddy could go get their robes and try to find their friends.

For right now they were stuck in the world of dragons and broomsticks and princesses. On the other side of town, it was a different story.

Harry and Ginny had been joined by Dudley and Cora, and Fred and Angelina they were gathering supplies for Roxxy, Freddie, Maddie, Zoe, James, and Parker and right now, they were working on wands for the four first years.

"Parks just pick it up and it will choose you it it's the correct wand." Harry urged.

Parker resolutely shook his head. "No, I changed my mind I don't want to go." Parker said, folding his arms stubbornly.

Dudley looked at Harry, concerned. Parker was not an outspoken child. He wasn't one to talk harshly at all.

Harry walked up to the little boy he had become very close to over the years and knelt in front of him. "What's wrong Parker, you were so excited to go."

Parker shrugged and looked over to Zoe who already had her wand and Fred who was currently being told he wasn't allowed to try to shoot sparks at James until James had his own wand to defend himself.

"I just don't want to do it." Parker said, his voice soft.

Harry frowned.

"If you don't go you won't be able to study magic, or any of the magical books that you have read at my house, you won't be able to learn how to control the magic that you already have Parks…no one will make you go, but don't you want to go with Zoe Jamie and Freddie to school? You have been talking about it since you were so little. I know you want to use magic." He said encouragingly.

Parker nodded but remained quiet.

"What's the problem then?" Harry asked as Dudley walked up behind them to try and help his son, though magic wands was NOT something he had experience with.

"What if a wand doesn't pick me at all? What if I am not magic enough for one?" Parker barely spoke.

Harry looked at him and smiled in understanding.

"You know, I was afraid that I wouldn't be magic enough to be sorted, I promise you, you are on those lists and a wand will choose you. Though, if you're anything like me, it took forever to find just the right one. Just go on and take the wand, and in just a few days you will be on a train ready to learn everything you've been reading about."

Harry stood up and stepped back, Dudley smiled at him thankfully when Parker held up his hand to take the wand. Twenty minutes later Parker stood beside his father and mother beaming, showing off a handsome Hawthorne wand. And James was bouncing so much that they were having a hard time getting his proper measurements.

"Jamie, you have to hold still if you want this to work." Ginny chided her enthusiastic son.

"I just want to see one, please, it's the first time anyone LET me hold a wand." James said excitedly.

Harry and George both chuckled, knowing James had held several different wands and used them whether he had been allowed to or not. Ginny sighed and put her hands on his shoulders from behind so Olivander's assistant could finish the measurements without James wiggling about.

"And you will get to hold one, but right now, I need you to hold still." Ginny sighed.

"I'm tryin mum, I'm tryin." James said, barely able to contain his glee.

A few minutes later the young shop assistant came back with several boxes, with every wand he handed James, James waived it about wildly, causing a mild fire, a downpour of rain on his mother's head, and several small explosions. Finally the harassed looking young man warily handed James a shiny solid black wand.

"Ebony, 12 inches, with unicorn hair. It is firm, it will be strong in defensive magics." He said, placing it gently in James' hand.

James' eyes instantly widened almost comically as he felt the tingle of magic race up his arm as the wand bonded with him.

"I think we finally have a match." The man said in relief.

Ginny and Angelina both sighed and Ginny spoke as Harry paid the man.

"I am glad that is finally finished." She said thankfully.

Fred looked mischievously at his cousin and best friend and Harry and George's eyes met.

"I believe that this is only the beginning." Harry said with a knowing smile.

**0o0o**

**0o0o0o**

**0o0o**

**Hogwarts years they are entering**

**Teddy- **7th Year-Gryffindor

**Victoire-** 6th Year- Gryffindor

**Molly-**5th Year- Gryffindor

**Lucy-**5th Year- Ravenclaw

**Dominique-**4th Year- Ravenclaw

**Roxxy- **3rd Year Gryffindor

**Louis-**2nd year Ravenclaw

**Freddie-**1st Year (you'll have to wait and see)

**James-**1st Year (you'll have to wait and see)

**Parker 1st Year **(you'll have to wait and see) (Dudley's son)

**Lorcan- **5th Year Ravenclaw (Luna and Rolf)

**Lysander-**5th Year Hufflepuff (Luna and Rolf)

**Ollie- **7th Year Gryffindor (Alicia and Oliver Wood)

**Madeline- **4th year Gryffindor (Alicia and Oliver Wood)

**Zoe- **1st year (you'll have to wait and see) (Alicia and Oliver Wood)

**0o0o**

**0o0o0o**

**0o0o**

**Ages of NON HOGWARTS Kids**

**Albus **turning 11 this year

**Rose **turning 11 this year

**Hugo **turning 10 this year

**Lily **turning 10 this year

**Everleigh Wood **turning 11 this year (Youngest child of Alicia and Oliver)


End file.
